Kamen Rider W: The Two in One Kamen Rider
by hiro9796
Summary: Sequel to Kamen Rider CHL. After encountering Kamen Rider Cyclone, Kirito and his friends got hitched along to the future. They had no way of immediate return even though they seek help from Hiro, the boy with access to Earth's infinite archive. In addition, with crime rising in Amanohara City and Dopants getting stronger, Hiro and Kirito fight together as two in one Kamen Rider.
1. Prologue

**Please read Kamen Rider CHL (Cyclone, Heat, Luna): The P that defies law of nature before reading this so that you can see the connection of this story to the previous one.**

 **12** **th** **May 2060, Wednesday**

After managing to put an end to Pharaoh Dopant's case, the detective, Oozora Hiro was dying as he received a grave wound from the criminal. Currently, his apparently lifeless body was resting against the wall at some empty alley in a heavy night rain. Upon managed to convey his dying messages towards his mother, Haruka and his little sister, Ayumu via phone call, the bluenette lost the strength in his hand to continue talking to them. He ended up dropping the Stag Phone along with his left arm and his eyelids were forced to shut close.

"Don't worry, I'll save you. Hang in there" a voice suddenly said, and it sounded feminine. " _Who?_ " Hiro asked in his mind as his eyelids slowly opening again but ended partially. He did see female like silhouette in front of him and heard her words. However, his vision was too blurred for him to describe how she exactly looks like. In addition, his eyelids soon close again, rendering him to only have a glimpse of that female silhouette.

* * *

 **20** **th** **April 2059, Sunday**

Inside a building at a secluded island, there are two people within one of the open floors. The first one is a man in his forties who works as a private detective. He had grey eyes, wore a white suit and a white fedora with black ribbon that is slightly torn at the front. This man is Asaka Fuuto. The other one is Hiro but the bluenette was not wearing anything formal. His outfit was more of a casual, consisting of a white t-shirt with grey stripe running across the centre, blue sweatshirt with light blue hoodie, white badge on left side, short brown pants and a pair of green-white sneakers. Hiro was Fuuto's apprentice or rather a detective in training.

At that time, Fuuto was supporting the bluenette with his shoulders in walking due to some circumstances. As for Hiro, he was carrying a metal briefcase in his free hand. Their only goal was to get out of that place. However, unbeknownst to them, many men in black suits are there, armed with guns.

A few of them suddenly pulled the trigger to shoot at them, specifically they shoot at Fuuto. The said detective got hit at his back from the bullets and was forced to release his support on Hiro before collapsing. His fedora ended up falling along the way. The apprentice was shocked and went to check on Fuuto. "Boss!" Hiro called out worriedly.

However, Fuuto struggled with all his might in his hand to reach out his dropped fedora before putting it on his apprentice. "Hiro… For me… look after this city and my daughter until she got married a man worthy of having her" the elder detective told the bluenette as he passed his fedora to the latter.

Tears started falling as Hiro started sobbing. "Please forgive me. This hat is still too early for me… I am not ready yet!" the bluenette cried as he regrettably apologised to his mentor. "Then be a man worthy of it" said Fuuto amusingly before he lied his head down and shut his eyes, dying for real. The bluenette was horrified could not believe what he really sees. Someone who he admired as a fatherly figure and his mentor in being a detective, die before his very eyes. "Boss!" yelled Hiro as he mourned for his mentor's death.

* * *

Inside a bedroom where Hiro usually slept at daily, the bluenette was having a nightmare, reminding him of the past that he faced before. Upon witnessing the death scene, his eyelids, as if by instinct, along with his body suddenly raised and he sat while yelling 'Boss!'. Then, Hiro realised that he was at a different place than what he experienced and ended up panting out of shock.

"Where… am I?" muttered Hiro, wondering where he was as he started looking around him. Then the bluenette realised that he was in his bedroom, specifically, he was lying on his bed, covered in a blanket and he was wearing a grey pyjama. Then the detective remembered that he was wounded and proceed to lift his cloth and check his body.

To his surprise, the grave wound he received was not there. It already vanished like magic. "Is that a dream?" Hiro asked himself as he let go of his cloth. "No. It isn't. I'm sure I died. That hard battle and this city crying. It's not a dream. But, why I am alive? Who was that?" he wondered curiously about what happened to him.

* * *

 **18** **th** **June 2060, Friday**

Hiro got involved in another case. This time, he received a request from his high school informants and his little sister, Ayumu to stop a criminal who had been changing the exam results of school students. To be specific, students who supposedly passed in flying colours ended up failing while the vice versa occurred. Day, Night, and Ayumu were among the victims who suddenly got F in their results despite studying properly and do revisions.

Hiro suspected that a Dopant was involved since the same phenomena happened to every school in Amanohara City and those people are having complaints about how prejudice this thing is despite some of the students work hard but ended up failing. After managing to gather evidence, the detective managed to find out the identity of the criminal and the used Gaia Memory.

Currently, a Dopant was cornered into under a bridge that was void of people by Kamen Rider Cyclone. The Dopant had dark blue body with an Analog clock head, calendar like torso, black samurai-like armour and a pair of blades that represents a clock's hour and minute hands, hanging by the waist. According to the lookup Hiro had done in the Planetary Bookshelves, the name of the Gaia Memory was Time. One of its exclusive ability is that one can travel into the past and alter the future. Upon knowing this power was serious business if abused any further, the detective cannot simply ignore such a criminal and decide to put an end to this charade.

"Michael Tabata, 32 years old, an unemployed man who was suspected for scandals" Hiro started by revealing the identity of the culprit. "What are you thinking, changing the result for students' exams?" he questioned.

"Students who failed in their exams will fall to despair and of course ended up thinking their life is over. Their failure education and poor reputation rendered them impossible to enter college and gets job. In the end, most of them will ended up become criminal" explained Michael wickedly.

"Failure in education and poor reputation will lead to increase in crimes, huh?" Hiro mumbled. "I do have that logic once. But too bad for you, humans are much stronger to resist such thing, if they got support from their family and friends. And more importantly, successful people are born from those who learn and improve themselves from their past mistakes and failures. The same goes for me" he argued while comparing himself to it.

The criminal was left speechless, mainly because he was just saying that with solid justification and had no idea what to use for countering the argument. "What should I do? Perhaps I should go to the past and distribute Gaia Memories. Maybe that will change his impression" Michael thought of a solution, but he was not thinking. He was saying his mind out loud that even anyone can tell that he does not know how to be quiet about things you should not tell people. Hiro was aware about this because one of the keywords that lead to this criminal was 'Careless' from all the clues he gathered.

"I got the feeling such thing would come to mind" said Hiro calmly, somehow had anticipated this. "What?! How did you know what I was thinking?" questioned Michael. "You were saying that at FULL VOLUME!" Hiro pointed out.

The Dopant then become surprised upon realising how careless he was and blabbered something he was not supposed to say. "Oops I really say it loud? Forget you heard anything and let me skedaddle. Okay, Kamen Rider-san?" he politely pleaded, which made the green Kamen Rider sniggered amusingly for a while. "Sorry, can't do that!" declared Hiro before he charged towards the Dopant with the W-Sword in hand.

Time draw the pair of blades and used them to defend himself as Cyclone came swinging his sword at the former. The green Kamen Rider continuously swung for a few times, giving the Dopant no time to counterattack before delivering a frontal kick, hurling him 10 metres away. "This shall clinch it" declared Cyclone as he pulled the green Memory from the driver, readying to insert it into W-Sword 's Maximum Slot. "Not yet!" Time raised his right hand to the rear and a violet portal suddenly appeared not to far from him.

The green Kamen Rider was aware that this is how the Dopant activates his unique ability to travel into different timelines. However, he was not going to let the criminal get away because of it. "Trying to run?!" growled Cyclone as he inserted the green memory, pressed the maximum button and stabbed the ground to summon a moving whirlwind towards Time.

An explosion transpired upon crashing the dark blue Dopant, presumably triggering a Memory Break. However, when the flames settle down, the green Kamen Rider was taken by surprise upon seeing the portal still active and no sign of the criminal or the shattered memory anywhere. "He got away? Then, I give chase!" declared Hiro as he rushed and managed to enter the portal before it closes a second afterwards.

* * *

 **10** **th** **May 2026, Sunday**

Morning…

At the bottom of Oguma mountain, a treasure hunting race is being hold and about to start. The number of contestants is quite high because around 210 people signed up for this expedition contest. The race is team-based participation and requires 7 people per team, meaning, there are 30 teams competing against each other.

Kirigaya Kazuto (Kirito) had formed a team to join this contest. His other friends joining him in his team are Yuuki Asuna (Asuna), Shinozaki Rika (Lisbeth), Keiko Ayano (Silica), Asada Shino (Sinon), Nagata Shinichi (Recon) and lastly his little sister, Kirigaya Suguha (Leafa). Of course, Kirito was unwilling to join this because of he was not physically fit and not interested in outdoor activities as such. Though, because Asuna and Suguha made some excuse or such that he must join or so, he ended up obeying them in the end.

As for Shinichi, it is safe to imply that he just wanted to tag along with Suguha wherever she goes, since he had a crush on her. Supposedly, Tsuboi Ryotarou (Klein) and Andrew Gilbert Mills (Agil) were invited to join in but they had to decline due to various circumstances. Hence, the only males in the team are Kirito and Recon. All of them wore sports attire, consisting of sport shoes, tracksuits and long sleeve sweatshirts. Each of them also sports a lanyard with a tag for team numbers. Their group number is 7, which is equal to the number of members they had in their team.

"There sure is a lot of contestant. Maybe around 30 teams perhaps?" said Silica, referring to the crowds around them. "It's a shame Klein and Agil can't join us this time" stated Sinon. "What's wrong with those two?" asked Recon. "Agil and his family promised to have fun at an amusement park" answered Lisbeth. "As for Klein-san, his doctor forbids him from joining outdoor activities since he was recently discharged from the hospital" said Suguha subsequently.

"Still, why am I here anyway?" Kirito grumpily asked. "It's important to move your muscles regularly, Kirito-kun. I'm worried about your health" answered Asuna. "I think I had enough of exercising from Ordinal Scale (OS) incident" sighed Kirito whiningly, recalling all the moments of OS battles against SAO floor bosses, especially how incompetent he was on the first few.

It was all thanks to Suguha's kendo teaching and continuous practices that he was able to beat most bosses by himself and get into one-digit ranks. After evolving that much, he was able to figure out that Nochizawa Eiji, the OS player on second rank, who thought to have supernatural reflexes, was in fact, cheated using a special suit invented by Shigemura Tetsuhiro, the developer for Augma, the Augmented Reality device.

"Don't complain! Onii-chan get too much involved in gaming that you neglect exercising" scolded Suguha for her big brother's childish whining. "Plus, it's good to feel fresh air occasionally. You don't really get to experience this every day you know" Lisbeth added. "That's right, Kirito-kun" Asuna concluded.

"Seriously?" sighed Kirito, having no choice to escape the situation. "Still, why are you here, Nagata-kun?" Suguha questioned, somehow uneasy by, in her language, acquaintance rather than friend being present in the team.

"Geez, you invited me, and you asked me why?" replied Shinichi with sarcasm. "After all, Nagata-kun don't really spend with our party that often" Suguha pointed out. "Sorry about that, Suguha-chan. You don't really invite me that often" Shinichi apologised but the tone sounded so sarcastic, implying he was ridiculing her. However, Suguha was not amused and angrily gave Shinichi a punch on the stomach, causing him to yelp while tending to his pain.

"Don't address me so familiarly!" berated Suguha, somehow not pleased to hear her acquaintance addressing the former on first name basis. "Then how should I address you? Your big brother with us. He would get confused if I say Kirigaya-san" argued Shinichi. "Just shut up!" yelled Suguha as she delivered another punch at her acquaintance's stomach, repeating his yelp again.

Everyone else who watched this instantly sweat dropped, somehow surprised and a little awkward while feeling pity for the victim. "Suguha-chan really cold with Nagata-kun. They've been schoolmates but she's treating him like mere acquaintance" Asuna whispered to Kirito. "Well, she's no different than Sinon" spat Kirito but too bad the girl he referenced his sister with heard that. "Kirito, do you want me to send you to the hospital?" questioned Sinon with a threatening tone. "Sorry!" apologised Kirito, scared of the idea of what this beauty sniper would do to him.

"Contestants, may I have your attention please?" everyone's attentions were averted upon hearing the emcee's announcement. "Welcome to Bruno Treasure Hunting Competition. Just like the rumours regarding 7 wonders of the world, there are 7 treasures hidden in this mountain. The rule is simple, collect all the treasures. However, do note that the quantity for each treasure are only 3. In other words, only 3 teams can get all 7 treasures and the ownership for each is on first come, first serve basis. Supposedly, it comes to the last one of each treasure and there are more than one team that arrive simultaneously, our staff will hold a minigame for the teams to compete against each other for the treasure's ownership. Choose a representative from each team to play the minigame and that treasure shall be granted to the winning team. Of course, you can even try to take a treasure from another team until you get them all. However! Since our grand prizes are limited, there will be a time limit of four hours. Any questions so far?" the announcer informed the contestants before a few of them inquired regarding things they are not clear of.

After all inquiries had been answered, the race began on the signal by the emcee. All groups were scattered all around as they move, searching for the treasure based on the map given. Of course, the rule never forbids contestants to use such gadgets to assist them because it was not stated in the don'ts but in the do's.

With Yui and Strea's help, Kirito's team were able to get six out of seven treasures quicker than the rest because other teams did not have Artificial Intelligence Navigators like them. However, team 7 had a little bit of trouble in getting the last treasure because they arrived about simultaneously as team 21. Following the stated rule, both team competes in a short minigame held by the staffs in charge. Silica was chosen as the representative for Kirito's team while team 21 choose their own to participate in the minigame.

Though, Silica was hesitant because she did not have confidence in herself and afraid of losing. Nevertheless, the others trusted her and did not mind if she lose as their aim for this race was to have fun rather than winning the prizes. Hence, the little girl accepted the challenge and played that minigame.

Luckily, thanks to Silica's efforts and the minigame's nature, she managed to prevail against the opposing team, thus giving her team the proper ownership for the last treasure. Everyone applause their member of the team, who was a beast-tamer in ALO for winning that minigame. The little girl told them because of their belief in her that she was able to win and thanked the others for it.

With that, Kirito's team returned to the starting point and present all the collected treasures to the judges. After the hunting period was over, all contestants were gathered for the prize award ceremony. The third and second place goes to team 11 and team 29 respectively. Team 7 gets the grand prize since they were the first team to arrive and received a gadget invented by that company besides the biggest hamper. The other contestants applaud and congratulate the winning team. However, everyone was unaware that team 21, whose members are all males, did not cheer for the winning team. Instead, they had these vengeful glares, particularly towards team 7 but the crowd's praising was too noisy for everyone else to notice.

* * *

Kirito and his team are on their way towards downtown, trekking from Oguma mountain on the manmade road. They were the few of the last people to leave because their hamper prize was too heavy for them to carry as it is. Hence, they decided to divide their share of loads and prize right there rather than doing it at downtown.

While trekking, a group of familiar people approached and stopped in front of them. These people are the contestants from team 21 in the race earlier. "Um… how can we help you guys?" asked Silica.

"Wait, you guys are from team 21" stated Sinon. "What do you want?" inquired Kirito. "Sorry, you'll be handing over that prize to us!" team 21 leader declared. "Huh?! We won fair and square! Can't you just properly accept that you guys lost against us?" Lisbeth retorted with proper justification. "That's right! If winning is everything, that made you guys sore losers" Suguha added. "Shut up!" team 21 leader barked as he and his team members, each brings out something.

All of them had black USB devices with ribcage design, brown ports and a unique masked shape for an 'M' letter imprinted on it together with the name 'Masquerade' in capital letters. There is also a button to activate it. **"Masquerade"** the members of team 21 pressed the button on those devices and pierced their necks using the ports.

Those devices, known as Gaia Memories entered those people's bodies and mutates them into something unbelievable. They had ribcage on all over their black heads, pitch black eyes and were mouthless. Their clothing does not change but their bodies had become jet black as well.

Kirito and his friends were horrified from seeing this scene. "What?!" gasped Kirito. "They have become monsters!" exclaimed Shinichi. Kirito's group takes a step backward for every step those humanoid monsters take to approach them. "You're not getting away" a new male voice informed the group.

Kirito and his friends turned around to where the voice came from and saw an adult man with grey eyes and hair, wearing sports attire. That attire felt familiar for them because the staffs that handled the event a while ago wore similar outfits. "You're… one of the staffs from the competition just now" Asuna pointed out. "I have nothing personal against you guys but please die in their hands" that malicious male staff requested, telling Kirito and his friends to let themselves die. "What did you say?!" gulped Kirito. He realised that this male staff was in a conspiracy with team 21 who refused to accept losing.

Those villains began chuckling wickedly as they approached Kirito and his friends. The surrounded group were helpless in more ways than one. First is because Suguha did not bring her shinai and everyone did not bring any self-defence equipment. Second, the rest are not well-versed martial arts fighters, meaning they had no experience in self-defence either. Third, their paths to flee were blocked back and forth. The only option left was to make a phone call to the polices. Knowing that in mind, Lisbeth brings out her smart phone to dial emergency number, but the male staff and those villains had foreseen this.

To counter this, those villains rushed and grabbed Kirito and his friends, putting them into a headlock as well as preventing the victims from making an SOS call. The leader took Kirito while his members took the others as hostages. Of course, the victims struggled to break free, but they could not do so because the monster villains' strength was supernatural. "Let us go!" Suguha demanded. "Now, die!" the leader declared as he and his members trying to kill Kirito and his group.

"Hold it, gentlemen! It's a waste to kill the girls. Why don't you take them to become your play dolls? You understand what I mean?" the male staff informed team 21 to take advantage of what they have. "I get it. Then just killed these two boys and these chicks are our spoils, right?" the leader guessed.

"I guess you're right. This one has big chests. I wonder if she produces milk if I try sucking her" one of team 21 member said, referring to Suguha as he was holding and ogling onto her. "No fair! I want that one!" another member of team 21 whined while he was holding onto Asuna. "You yourself got a pretty lady there. What's there to complain about?" the previous member retorted. "How about we take turns with each girl as we all have fun?" leader team 21 suggested. "Agree!" the rest of his teammates agreed.

Of course, the two boys hearing this do not plan to let the villains do as they please. Kirito specifically, was protective of Asuna and Suguha because they are his girlfriend and sister respectively. Although Lisbeth, Silica and Sinon were did not have that kind of relationship with him, he still would not allow his female friends to be ravished by these impertinent villains. As for Shinichi, he cared and loved very much for Suguha although his romantic feelings were not reciprocated. She may be a tough, meanie girl at him but that is her charm and it makes him wanted to protect her more than anyone else in the world.

"I won't allow that!" barked Kirito, struggling to break free again from team 21 leader's grasp. "Audacious villains like you guys had no rights to touch Suguha-chan and the others with your filthy hands!" shouted Shinichi, trying to do the same but could not do any better than Kirito.

"All bark but no bite. Just stay still and your deaths won't be painful" said the male staff. "Let's start with you, noisy brat!" leader team 21 declared as he began strangling Kirito. The victim began yelping in pain while his limbs are too weak to break himself free. "Kirito-kun!" "Kirito-san!" "Kirito!" "Onii-chan!" Kirito's friends and family called out to him worriedly while helpless to save him because the other villains keep a strong hold onto them.

As hope for them began to fade, it did not from a sudden change of events that occurred afterwards. A small black stag beetle machine came flying out of nowhere and strike team 21 leader back and forth, forcing him to let go of Kirito. Everyone else was dumbstruck as to what just happened. Before they knew it, bright flashings suddenly happened, forcing them to cover their eyes. That flashes came from another small machine that is a blue bat. Then, during the confusion, another machine, which is a yellow spider shoots out strings at a few of those villains and their sights were blocked.

Realising they cannot see, those villains inadvertently let go of Silica, Lisbeth and Sinon. As for Shinichi, Suguha and Asuna, they broke free from their stranglers because the stag machine came striking those people after it strikes Kirito's strangler.

Noticing they had an opening, Shinichi and the others rushed away from the villains, with Suguha and Asuna supporting Kirito with their shoulders as they help him too. "Ah! They're getting away!" a member of team 21 noticed and yelled. "Don't let them escape!" the male staff ordered and team 21 began to chase after Kirito and his friends.

However, the three colourful machines interfered and strike them again with their previous patterns. This time, they attack the male staff as well. Kirito and his friends had their attentions on this and stopped fleeing after managing to get a good distance away by heading towards the bottom of the mountain.

They were confused as to what was occurring. Weird USB devices that transform people into monstrous form and colourful gadgets that came to rescue them. They were curious about this themselves. "What's going on?" asked Lisbeth.

Then, those gadgets suddenly flee from the villains and all headed towards the direction where Kirito's team was. The stated team had their eyes followed those machines movement until they saw a silhouette standing a few metres below them, continuously approaching the scene. The three gadgets all gathered around that shadow, who was revealed to be a man.

That man had dark blue hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a maroon long sleeve shirt with grey necktie, black vest and pants of the same colour. He also had a black fedora on his head and sport a pair of black shoes for his footwear. This man is Oozora Hiro, a detective and a Kamen Rider. "Who?" asked Sinon. "A detective?" guessed Asuna based on Hiro's attire.

(Play song: WBX [Double Boiled Extreme] by Kamiki Aya w TAKUYA)

Of course, even the male staff and the villains noticed the presence of the new guy and assume he was the one who owns the three gadgets. "Who the hell are you?!" the leader of team 21 questioned angrily.

"I came to interfere" declared Hiro, showing his face to them with a cold attitude. Those villains, excluding the male staff were furious for that impertinent attitude of the bluenette and charged towards him. Of course, the detective charged the monstrous villains and they engaged into grappling.

Unlike what happened earlier with Kirito and his friends, Hiro seemed to be putting up a good fight against these supernatural monsters. Even without weapons, he managed to get these villains good, blocking their attacks with his arms or dodge by crouching and then countered with kicks or punches. He even managed to grab one of the villains and hurled him to their teammates. Although in the detective's language, he referred to them as Dopants, monsters born from the use of Gaia Memories, the USB like devices that allow people to become such monstrous creatures. Since the name of the memories used by team 21 is Masquerade, these are Masquerade Dopants.

Kirito and the others were awed by this. They had to admit, this detective is skilful. "Amazing…" Silica muttered. "What a splendid way of moving" Sinon noted. "This guy seems trained in fighting" said Suguha. "Yeah. From what I can see, it does not seem like he used any special equipment that enhances his body" Kirito concurred as he did not see anything about that seems to support this detective in fighting the Dopants.

By the time he said that, Hiro had finished fighting those villains, knocking them all down and sweep his hands like he just cleaned things from dust. The male staff was surprised to see those team was defeated by a single individual.

"I finally found you… Michael Tabata. No. Time Dopant" Hiro declared and pointed his hand towards the male staff. "Dopant?" echoed Shinichi. "You are…!" the male staff known as Michael Tabata gasped. He seems to know the detective somehow. "That's right. I pursued you here" Hiro told him. "Now, surrender"

"I refuse! You won't be able to catch me!" growled Michael as he brought out a Gaia Memory too. His memory has dark blue colour and had clock's hands forming a T for Time. **"Time"**

A Living Connector Port appeared on the back of his right hand and the male staff inserted the said memory onto it. Instantly, Michael transformed into a monster as well but his form changes everything including his cloth rather than just his body.

Kirito and the rest were terrified to learn that male staff, known as Michael Tabata was a monster too. What was more surprising to them was those Masquerade Dopants had get up to their feet and gathered around that detective. Kirito can tell that these guys want payback for the humiliation at them earlier. "My, my, you wish to settle this by force? You leave me no choice" said Hiro as he briefly strokes his fedora.

The detective then took out a red device called Lost Driver from his clothing with his left hand and wore it on his waist, which transformed into a belt that comes along with the Maximum Slot. Afterwards, the bluenette took out a green Gaia Memory with his right hand and presses the button on it. That memory was glossier than the memories used by Michael and the villains. The name of this was Cyclone and had the letter C that looks like a hurricane in crescent shape from plan view.

 **"Cyclone"** the Gaia Memory said the name and the detective insert it into the memory slot. Afterwards, he slowly brings his left hand forward before clenching it into fist while his right hand was on standby at the Lost Driver.

"Henshin!" Hiro yelled, pushing the memory slot to the right, forming a half W shaped buckle. **"Cyclone"** the Lost Driver played a technical guitar music after announcing the name of the memory.

Simultaneously, circuit lines and connector ports suddenly become visible on Hiro's face along with a typhoon and many green bits that appeared around the bluenette. Everything pasted on him, changing his form.

Now, Hiro had a green armour from top to bottom, with the torso part being slightly bulky. He had the grasshopper compound eyes in crimson colour as the visor, some silver W-shaped antennae and a black line that makes the overall appearance look symmetrical. Apart from that, he had golden anklets, wristbands and stripes on the torso, which form the shaped of letter 'W'. The stripes are also present on his round shoulder pads. The body of Cyclone had many several lines but the ones around the groins and knees are much closer and repetitive, both in front and behind. Lastly, there is a silver shining muffler hanging around his neck. He had become Kamen Rider Cyclone.

Kirito and the others were now amazed from seeing this detective transformed into a green grasshopper humanlike warrior. Even Time and Masquerades were surprised to witness this as well. The green Kamen Rider then raised his right hand and pointed towards Time.

"Now, count up your sins!" Cyclone told the criminals as he flicked his hand with a gesture that suggest someone to count something. Kirito and the others, especially Shinichi can tell that this detective sure is cool to be saying such awesome lines at a proper time. However, towards the humans who became Dopants, this line is a total insult and it infuriates them.

The Masquerades began charging towards Cyclone all at once. The green Kamen Rider avoids their attacks and countered against them, knocking each away with punches and kicks. This time the battle looks more one sided towards the Cyclone because he had transformed as well.

After finish handling the Masquerades, the green Kamen Rider rushed towards Time, who brings out his pair of clock hands' blades to defend himself. However, Cyclone brings out a weapon of his own, which is a sword.

Like normal swords, the blade part was double sided that he can hit the enemies from any side. It has a black grip with slightly gold lining by the pommel and an empty slot to insert a Gaia Memory from there. The guard has slightly darker colour than the grip and had wings on both sides that formed the shape 'W'. Depending from what angle one views it, the colours of the wings of the left and right sides are purple and green respectively and vice versa. In addition, there was a small pink button with a 'W' logo at the guard centre. This button shall be pressed to initiate a Maximum Drive according to the inserted Gaia Memory. Hiro calls this the W-Sword, an invention he made from knowledge of Gaia Memories and its related weapons.

The green Kamen Rider uses this sword and engage against Time in a sword fight. The stint theme Dopant began cleaving repeatedly against Cyclone, who blocked every swing that came at him. When there is an opening, the green Kamen Rider parried one of Time's swing and then countered by striking the Dopant a few times before delivering a kick towards the enemy, hurling him to 50 metres away.

At that point, Cyclone notices that all the Masquerades gather as a group to attack him again. Looks like they still have the energy to fight. "You guys have no chance of winning. Take out the memory from your bodies" Cyclone ordered. "What?!" a member of team 21 responded.

"Either surrender them to me or destroy them right here. Choose" the green Kamen Rider offered. "Why must we do that?!" another member of the Masquerades questioned. "There's no way to save Masquerade Dopants unless you guys took the memories out yourselves. You guys are citizens from the past. Killing you guys here means changing the future for your descendants and erased them completely. Be cooperative and do what I say. It's for your own good" explained Cyclone. "Don't mess with us! Like we listen to your nonsenses!" the leader of Masquerades barked as he and his group charged towards the green Kamen Rider. "I see" replied Cyclone in disappointment. "Then, you leave me no choice. I will put you guys out of your miseries"

The green Kamen Rider then readied himself to a battle stance as this happens by pretending to sheathe his sword to a scabbard that is on the left side of his waist. The moment, the first Masquerade that arrived was about to land a hit on Cyclone, everything suddenly went standstill for a few seconds.

When the time halt was undone, the green Kamen Rider is now a few metres away from Masquerades, with his sword drawn and pointing forward. Those black Dopants remained stationary during that time. There is not a slight sound made by anyone, not even by nature and everything went silence.

However, the silent moment was broken by the sound of breeze. Then, all the villains, now known as Masquerade Dopants instantly shattered like glass as they yelped, dying.

Kirito and his friends once again, were astonished with Cyclone's fighting style and could not say anything other than awesome. Then, Asuna noticed that Time, who was injured by the green Kamen Rider gets up on his feet and flee towards the base of the mountain. "That guy is fleeing!" she exclaimed.

Cyclone who heard that also notices the stint theme Dopant's attempt to escape and give chase. As for Kirito and his friends, they were curious to see the outcome of this awesome fight and ended up following suit.

After 10 minutes of chasing, they all arrived at the base of the mountain. Time notices that the green Kamen Rider managed to catch up to him. However, the Dopant himself was in no condition to fight, hence he should make a quick retreat. Knowing that in mind, Time use all his might to summon a violet portal, which resulted the size in being larger than usual and immediately entered it.

Cyclone, noticing the culprit had use his last resort immediately plunged into the gateway as well. Kirito and the rest immediately halted their movements from going further. However, the portal suddenly started acting violently like a vacuum cleaner, attempting to suck everything around into it.

Kirito and his friends attempt to stand firm, preventing themselves from getting caught into the portal. Of course, it is a natural action since they do not know what will happen to them if they were to blindly plunge into it. Where they will end up into? Will they manage to find the exit or trapped in there for the rest of their life? Even if they found an exit, will all of them arrived in one piece? There are so many questions with high uncertainties that suggest they must not follow Kamen Rider Cyclone and Time Dopant as this is not worth dying for if it means they get stranded somewhere with no point of return.

Knowing that in mind, they did their best to stay firm but unfortunately the driving force of that portal went completely off the chart. Hence, Kirito and the others ended up flinging towards the portal and entered it.

* * *

 **18** **th** **June 2060, Friday**

In the present time at Amanohara City, all the clocks display the time 1:00 pm. At an alleyway, Cyclone managed to corner Time there after a long goose chase. That Dopant got hurled from the green Kamen Rider's punch and currently vulnerable for finishing attack.

"This will clinch it!" Cyclone declared as he brings out the green memory and puts it into the Maximum Slot on his right waist. **"Cyclone. Maximum Drive"** Kamen Rider Cyclone leapt and formed a backflip as the wind supports the rider in temporarily staying on the air. "Cyclone Kick!" Cyclone presses the button on the Maximum Slot before plunging by pointing both legs towards Time. The wind supports the rider by putting a whirlwind effect around the legs that shapes like a drill and give a push for higher attack output. The attack crashed against the Dopant and causes an explosion.

Afterwards, the Time Memory came out and shattered into pieces while the villain, Michael Tabata fell unconscious on the floor. "You sure are handful. Glad that's over" Cyclone told himself as he negates his transformation, reverting to Hiro. The detective then contacts the police, telling them to come right away and arrest Michael Tabata.

"Um... detective-san" a male voice suddenly called out to the untransformed Kamen Rider that was busy keeping his phone into his cloth after finish making his call. "Yes, how can I help you?" replied Hiro, not even looking at the person calling him before he did it properly after keeping his phone.

Hiro's eyes widen in disbelief that they could fall out from what he saw. Kirito and his friends are in the detective's timeline! Just that statement is more than enough to bring the detective explode if he was a bomb. It was Kirito who called out to him just now. " _Oh my_ " Hiro muttered in surprise, knowing what happen now is totally ugly.

 **I realised that making a game related event was more difficult so doing something in common sense is much easier to tackle with.**

 **In addition, I do realise that some of W's Gaia Memories are coincidentally like the traits of characters in SAO. Maybe some of them are wrong but I list them out what I think they are:**

 **1.** **Cyclone – Leafa/Kirigaya Suguha**

 **2.** **Heat – Klein/Tsuboi Ryotarou**

 **3.** **Luna – Silica/Keiko Ayano**

 **4.** **Joker – Kirito/Kirigaya Kazuto or Yuuki/Konno Yuuki?**

 **5.** **Metal – Lisbeth/Shinozaki Rika**

 **6.** **Trigger – Sinon/Asada Shino**

 **7.** **Fang – Asuna/Yuuki Asuna**

 **8.** **Xtreme – Yui and Strea? I don't know. Only for this memory I could not see any similarities with them or anyone in the story.**

 **So, I ended up imagining Leafa and Kirito transforming or merged as one perhaps into Cyclone Joker, Asuna and Kirito into Fang Joker, and so on. It's hilarious when I think about it though.**

 **As you can see, I put the boys and OC as the main characters, so the girls from SAO are only supporting character here. I guess that's fine because I was planning to make Recon as Accel. Why Recon? I think he was like another Oozora Hiro or something? I don't know. Maybe because he seems like a good character but not emphasised by Kawahara Reki to form deeper relationship with Suguha and the main characters. I mean, there was a little stuff about SAO I figured out that Kirito married ALL his harems, including his cousin Suguha in an accelerated virtual dimension or something. I rather not say that specifically, but I had a feeling that he should and is going to do that since every girl he met all fell for him. Seriously, the author made him a total chick magnet.**

 **I read SAK by Jacob Pendra-Huth and yeah, he made a good arc and role for Recon to fit in, getting along with Leafa and such. I can't remember much unless I reread that story once more. Honestly, I am not interested in that series sequels, only the first one seems to peak my interest because I have no knowledge of whatever anime/game world references he used for the sequel like Precure series or such. So, I thought I want to make Recon shines on his own way, perhaps. Anyway, I will try my best. I'm not interested into Klein and Agil that much so that's why they are not part of the story, only mentioned. Please Rate and Review.**


	2. W's First Debut

**18th June 2060, Friday**

Hiro, fighting as a detective and Kamen Rider chase after Michael Tabata, Time Dopant who tried to change the past. However, amidst of battle, Kirito and his friends got hitched along for the ride and ended up in Hiro's timeline.

Around the same alleyway where Hiro was and 10 minutes before Hiro finished the enemy, a portal appeared, with Kirito and the others came out from it and fell face downward on the floor. "Ow…" Kirito yelped as he slowly tries to move. Afterwards, he tried to get up as the rest tried to get up as well. "Everyone, are you all right?" Asuna asked. "Somehow…" Lisbeth answered. "Where are we?" asked Silica while looking around and found themselves at a different place. "Looks like we got hooked into that distorted gateway" Kirito deduced. "Then, we're at a different world?!" guessed Shinichi worriedly. "I can't say for sure. Let's try ask Yui and Strea" said Kirito as he brings out the gadget he won from the treasure hunting race in the last few hours.

That gadget is a a white handheld personal computer. It only has a few buttons on overall, a small screen and a touch pen hidden by one end of its edge. The name of this device was called Linkage Terminal. According to what being told to them, this device can call upon whatever data they connect to even without needing to link with the original data or to simplify, caches.

Kirito had his AI daughters connect to this device earlier after the tournament. "Yui, Strea" he called out to them. Then, a pair of holograms appeared on Kirito's shoulders. On his right is Yui in her ALO pixie form while on his left is Strea in Gnome race avatar with her SAO outfit.

"Yes, Papa?" asked Yui. "Can you figure out what is today's date?" Kirito asked. "Hold on" Yui told him as she and Strea try to figure out. It took them about a minute. "Apparently, today is 18th June 2060, Friday" the elder sister reported. "But that's pretty much we can tell. We don't know if this is our timeline or a different world" Strea added. "I see…" replied Kirito.

 _*BOOM! *_

The sound of an explosion was heard, and everyone had their attention to it. "What was that just now?" asked Suguha. "It's near" Strea informed them. "Let's go check it out" suggested Kirito as he and the rest gets up before heading towards the source of their attention.

It took them about a minute, but the group managed to locate the source for that explosion sound. There, they saw Kamen Rider Cyclone, or now untransformed as Oozora Hiro was making a call with the Stag Phone while an unconscious Michael Tabata was on the floor, lying face downward.

"Kirito-kun, isn't that guy…" trailed Asuna, recalling who he was. "Yeah, that guy who saved us a while ago. He might know how to send us back" he deduced before the group went to approach the detective. "Um… Detective-san…" Kirito started. "Yes, how can I help you?" asked Hiro. At first, the detective did not look at them but when he did, he instantly remembered these people are the victims that he saved them from. Of course, he does not talk to them but that does not make him unable to recognise people whom he saved.

" _Wait a second, aren't these guys from the past just now? They hitched along with me? Seriously?_ " thought the bluenette. Currently, the atmosphere become so awkward, especially for the detective. It is natural because Hiro did not expect past people to travel into the future so suddenly. He did read the book of Time Memory in Planetary Bookshelves but found nothing about destroying the memory brings completely everything back to normal. In that sense, he only knew that any action caused by criminal in the past will be undone but not the past/future people who got hitched on purpose. Plus, he had just form a Memory Break on Time Dopant, shattering its memory. In other words, Kirito and the others had just lost their one and only way of return.

"Fancy seeing you here lads. Are you lost or something?" asked Hiro awkwardly with a fake smile. "Don't play dumb! We met each other just now" Asuna pointed out. "Your surprise reaction just now proves that you knew. We're not human from this timeline" stated Kirito. "Anyway, to the point. We want to return to our timeline" Sinon demanded.

Looks like the plan to change the subject does not work on them. "Ah, about that. I don't think that's no longer possible" Hiro awkwardly told them, which made their eyes widen in horrified. "Eh?! Why?!" yelled Lisbeth. "Because his memory was already shattered… by me" Hiro told them but not before admitting he was responsible. Of course, hearing this causes everyone, at least most of them to be infuriated. Lisbeth even went as far as grabbing the detective's collar. "Hold it! How are we supposed to be get back?!" Lisbeth questioned angrily. "I demand you take responsibility for this" said Sinon.

"Hey! What are you thinking you're doing?!" a male voice suddenly yelled to the people on the scene. Everyone turned to the source and saw a group of police are already there and not to mention armed with guns. Apparently, the voice belongs to one of those officers. At that time, Kirito and his friends were panicked by this sudden intrusion from officers.

Of course, Lisbeth was being suspected for assault attempts because of the situation she was in from what the police can see. Two of the officers, which Hiro recognised as Nobu Kouji and his superior, Kagami Tetsuo approached Kirito and his friends. "Quite suspicious. You're all ganging to beat an adult? Kids these days, they sure let their emotion get the better of them and resorted to brute force" Kagami pointed out.

"Wait! It's not what you think it is!" Suguha reasoned but it looks like that does not seem to persuade the officers. "In any case, I'm arresting all of you for assault attempts!" Nobu angrily declared. Kirito and the rest were startled and scared with Lisbeth ended up releasing her grip on the bluenette. They did not mean anything wrong to the bluenette, but the police are going to arrest them for unintentional crime.

As for the detective, he knew that things will get ugly if Kirito and friends get detained. Even worse, there will be unwanted panics if these people haphazardly informed they are from the past to the police. Hence, the detective step in for the group and decides to give a good excuse.

"Hold it, Nobu-san, Kagami-san. I can explain. These people are my distant relatives who are looking for a place to stay in this city" Hiro started a lie. Kirito and his friends were shocked to see the detective covering for them. But what bothers them was the excuse that they were his relatives. "Hold it! What are you trying to pull off here?!" Suguha whisperingly and annoyingly questioned the bluenette about his lie as she approached him.

The detective glared at them with some lips movement that suggest, 'Just play along for now!' and they were silenced by this as not to make the situation any worse than it supposed to be.

"Continue" Kagami said before Hiro turned again with a normal expression. "Oh, I actually promised to lookup for a good place for all of them to stay together but I completely forgot to do that. So, when they found me here by coincidence and I told them that, they got impatient and it happens as you see now. It's partially my fault for not taking the responsibility seriously" the detective concluded.

"I see. All right. I'll overlook this one time" Kagami said, agreed to pretend that the dispute the polices saw is just a misunderstanding. "Then, where's Michael Tabata?" he asked. "He's over there" Hiro said, pointing his right thumb towards his back. "Good work" praised Kagami with a nod. "Then, we'll be taking our leave now. Please take care of the rest" Hiro informed the officers and make a hand gesture that beckons Kirito and his team to follow the detective before they leave.

* * *

At the Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro had guided Kirito and his team into coming to his. Of course, they had to go there…by bus, with the detective paying for their fares because the alleyway they happened to be at was too far and walking will take time. Even so, the office was not empty but occupied by a single girl. She has magenta-coloured hair tied in twin tails and a pair of emerald-coloured eyes. This teenage girl wears a purple striped sweater, indigo shorts, white knee-length socks and dark red shoes. This girl is Hiro's little sister, Oozora Ayumu. "Onii-chan. Welcome back…" Ayumu greeted but immediately paused and had her eyes widen in surprise upon seeing a crowd entering together with her big brother. "Wait! What's with this big crowd?!" she yelled. "Well, it's a long story. In any case, can you make drinks and snacks for our guests?" Hiro requested. "Okay" Ayumu obediently replied, somehow still could not understand what is going on.

Afterwards, Hiro invited Kirito and his friends to get themselves seated while he needs to get himself prepared for a few things and went to the first door with a collection of fedora hanging that is near the radio. As for Ayumu, she made everyone drinks and snacks before serving them. For Kirito and his friends, they were surprised by the even though this timeline supposedly is way technologic than their period. This office is small and had a retro sense, with almost everything like the furniture and radios are from older periods. While at it, they introduced themselves to Ayumu and vice versa before conversing for a bit.

A few minutes later, Hiro came out from the door he entered before and went to sit with them. Then, he started explaining things to Ayumu about what happened. "Eh?! These guys are from the past?!" exclaimed Ayumu.

"Shh! Don't yell! We don't want any unwanted attention" Hiro warned his little sister to keep her voice down. "Simply put, these guys got hitched along when I followed the criminal back to present time" he concluded. "I didn't even know they got stranded here and by that time, I broke the criminal's Memory"

"I deeply apologised!" Ayumu regrettably apologised with a bow. "Anyway, do you have any idea how we can return to our timeline?" asked Kirito. "For now, none" Hiro tactlessly answered, which the reply surprises Ayumu and the rest. "What do you mean there's none?!" the detective's little sister questioned.

"First and foremost, I am detective, not a scientist. Second, we don't have a time machine or anything of that sort in this era. Third, that technology is still on testing stage even if they are currently developing it. Fourth, of course, information related to that is obviously classified and stored in a secured, isolated server. Even hackers won't be able to gain access to it easily, not without knowing where it is. Fifth, developing that technology required billions of funds plus experts" Hiro explained with justification.

"Then, it's hopeless…" Ayumu replied disappointingly before an idea popped into her mind. "Wait a second. If we can just buy another identical memory and used it…" she suggested. "I refused! I'm against doing that even if it's the only way!" Everyone was silenced by Hiro's sudden outburst of anger and refusal. For some reason, the detective seemed quite infuriated by the idea of buying Time Memory from the organisation.

"Sorry… I just thought it was a good idea…" Ayumu lamentably make an apology. "Will you explain why? Why do you reject the idea?" Asuna asked. The bluenette listened but did not answered. Looks like he refused to tell the reason why.

"Allow us to explain" Strea intruded as her holographic figure along with Yui appeared on the table where the snacks and drinks were. Ayumu once again was flabbergasted from this revelation. "Who are they?!" she exclaimed.

"These two are Yui and Strea" Kirito introduced to Ayumu and her brother. "In Amanohara City, there is an evil organisation who sell Gaia Memories, devices that turn people into monsters known as Dopants. This person, Oozora Hiro is a private detective who fought as a detective and Kamen Rider to protect this city from those monsters and solve such related case" Yui began. "You are protecting this city?" Shinichi repeated while looking at the mentioned detective who still frowns. "Most of the Dopants are in fact criminals who wreak havoc in this city. We believe the reason why this person is against buying Gaia Memories was because the organisation is his enemy he swore to bring down" Strea assumed. Hearing this explanation from people who had their AI allies researched about him and Gaia Memories made the bluenette had a change of expression.

"Oh, you two really done quite a lookup. I'm impressed" Hiro complimented with a smirk. "Well, I asked them to investigate what they can about this place and time. I did ask them to research about you as soon as we are away from the police. We don't know a lot about you guys so it's only natural anyone would do this" explained Kirito.

"Then, allow me to tell what I know about you guys" retorted Hiro. "All of you are _Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game_ , MMORPG players. Kirigaya Kazuto, Yuuki Asuna, Shinozaki Rika, and Keiko Ayano. You four are among the 10000-people trapped in the dead game called Sword Art Online or in short term, SAO for 2 years and 1 day. All this happened because of the risky hardware you guys used to play that game and the developer, Kayaba Akihiko designed it in such a way. The hardware you used was Nerve Gear, a helmet which can fry the user's brain if someone in the real world try to take it off while you were using it or if your game character die in SAO since those devices are programmed in such a way in the very beginning to prevent anyone from escaping once they are in. Yui and Strea are the first and second prototype for Mental Health Counselling Programs that you encountered in the game and saved in Kirigaya Kazuto's Nerve Gear local memory. The rest of you uses a safer hardware called Amu-sphere. Asada Shino played Gun Gale Online or known as GGO while Kirigaya Suguha and Nagata Shinichi played ALfheim Online or ALO. Your character names are Kirito, Asuna, Silica, Lisbeth, Leafa, Recon and Sinon" the bluenette explained his lookup. "Isn't that right?"

Kirito and his friends were astonished to hear this from the detective. Of course, Ayumu is not surprised since she was aware that her big brother had access to Planetary Bookshelves, where all information on Earth were stored at.

"You…" Kirito muttered, still could not believe how accurate the detective said about their background. "How did you know that? We haven't told anything of sort yet" Silica questioned, curious how the detective knew about them.

"The truth is Onii-chan can…" Ayumu tries to explain but her big brother halted her. "Stop it, Ayumu. Don't explain anything unnecessary. There's a limit to how much knowledge past people can know about the future" Hiro interrupted. Somehow, the girls in Kirito's group felt uneasy about the detective trying to be enigmatic with them. "Hey! Why are you trying to be secretive with us?!" Lisbeth barked. "No. He's right" stated Kirito, which his friends were surprised by him concurring on this matter. "Kirito-kun?!" gasped Asuna.

"It's too dangerous for past people like us to know much about the future. I think it's best we don't know more than we should. Hypothetically, if a man had knowledge about his own future being a successful businessman, he might slack off in the present time because he was too sure that his future is fixed. In the end, when that time comes, he's not what he thought to be and regret for having that kind of thinking. But in our case, we might bring danger to people if we shared any information of what we gain in this timeline to public" Kirito elucidated. Shinichi and the girls then ponder about what just explained to them and could not deny it.

"As expected the Black Swordsman, you're quite a matured trump card" Hiro complimented, which made the man with the stated nickname in SAO was surprised from the last two words. "I am… a trump card?" muttered Kirito in confusion. No one, not even his friends or Kayaba Akihiko had ever referred to him with such a nickname. Apart from Black Swordsman, people called him by the name Beater and Blackie Sensei in the games.

"Am I wrong? Of course not. No one ever call you with that nickname, but they depend on you to save the day whenever there's crisis. Not to mention, in terms of gaming, you're the strongest among your friends. Even that Kayaba Akihiko admit that your strength surpassed his expectation. In other words, you're their Joker and I am the first person to acknowledge you with that nickname" Hiro justified his argument. Kirito and his friends were silenced from the detective's compliment regarding the former. Indeed, for Asuna and the other girls, they always depend on Kirito back in SAO and other MMORPG games, whether they realised it or not. As for Shinichi, had to admit Kirito was greater than him despite knowing himself being inferior than the rest.

"In any case, I'll help you guys in finding a way home" Hiro declared, which Kirito and his friends were again surprised. What the detective said earlier contradicts with his current statement. "Really?" Kirito asked again, wanting to make sure he just heard. "Of course!" Hiro confirmed. However, Ayumu panics because she was worried about what her brother was trying to imply. "Wait, Onii-chan. Didn't you just say there's none earlier?" she argued. "Using our own effort, yes. But if we can put an end to that organisation, that's a different story" said Hiro. "I don't understand" Ayumu replied.

"They are distributing those memories in this city for certain goals. What I am sure is that they are not interested in changing the past. Otherwise, they would have done so in the first place and erase our agency's existence while at it. But they didn't do it even though they had Time Memory created. Meaning to say, they had a grand ambition that they are sure to achieve whether they changed the past or not. If we can thwart that and make them surrender, I believe they will help us with inventing a device to send these guys back to their proper time without any strings attached. At least theoretically" Hiro pointed out. "So, what do you think? Are you guys on board?" he asked them.

Kirito and his friends exchange glances to each other, wondering what they should do. Should they go along with the solution the detective come up with or find their own solution? Either way, they do not know much about this timeline compared to Hiro and Ayumu. Not to mention, they do not have any money to survive on their own. Hence, the best course of action is to agree with this solution, which all of them look at the detective with a determined expression. "We're on board" Kirito declared, answering on behalf of everyone.

"Good decision. But I had to warn you. This organisation is powerful enough that not even Japan's government act against them for many years and there's no doubt a lot of hurdles will come in our way. Until that day comes, you guys need a place to stay, change of clothes and of course foods" Hiro informed them before he stood. "With that in mind, we need to do the preparation right away" he declared.

* * *

In the next few hours, Kirito and the rest spend their time shopping for basic needs, mainly food and cloth in a shopping complex after receiving a budget from Hiro, whom withdraw some amount of cash from the bank. As for the detective, he and Ayumu tagged along with them while the former requested his informants for any affordable dorms for that can accumulate at least 7 people.

Currently, all nine of them are at a food court on the fourth floor, having their meals for lunch with combined tables. Of course, below and around their seats are shopping bags filled with clothe and foods. While enjoying their meals, Hiro received a phone call from his informants, who informed him about the info he asked for earlier before putting away his phone.

"Good news guys. Apparently, Rhythm and Uncle Magic had found a good place for you guys to stay. It's not that far from our office so you can reach there with walking distance" Hiro informed them.

"Sorry, you even go as far as using your own expenses for buying us these basic needs" apologised Asuna for the detective's courtesy. "It's the least I could do since you guys got stranded here. Oh, if you don't mind, I would like to request one thing from everyone" replied Hiro. "What is it?" asked Shinichi.

"From this point onwards, I would like to address you guys using your character names. I know for gamers this is rude in terms of etiquette. But in this timeline, it's better no one else besides me and Ayumu know your full names and details. It's for your own good too" Hiro suggested with reasonings. "How ironic. We just thought of doing that as well during shopping earlier. I think it's better for us to be ambiguous" Kirito retorted. "Then, it's decided" Hiro concluded.

Suddenly, they heard screams, which had their attentions and made them went to the balcony railings to check what is happening. Then, they saw people on the ground floor fleeing from someone or something. However, the escaping people got hit by fireballs, which instantly burn them to ashes. Some got hit by rubbles from the ceiling that collapsed onto them out of the sudden screech. Kirito and the others were horrified by what they saw, wondering who would do such cruel things and try to locate the source.

To their shock, they saw two Dopants wreaking havoc. The first one is a rocky humanoid monster with glowing fiery body, eyes and flaming manes. This one is Magma Dopant. The second one is also a humanoid monster with a big dinosaur head with yellow eyes and a backbone like tail. The left hand and arm is a dinosaur paws and arms respectively. From the shape of the head, the dinosaur seems to be a Tyrannosaurus Rex or T-Rex. The second one, just like the species name is T-Rex Dopant.

"Dopants!" exclaimed Ayumu. "Plus, there's two of them!" she pointed out. "This is bad! Everyone! Run! Hurry!" ordered Hiro desperately upon realising the danger of these Dopants compared to Masquerades. Everyone else was puzzled regarding the order at first but then realised the danger is approaching if they did not act immediately. With that in mind, all of them abandon their belongings, specially the shopping bags and run as a group towards the emergency escape route.

Of course, people who had bought this much would think it is a waste to do such meaningless thing. However, those belongings can be replaced, and money can be gained while their lives cannot be treated the same way. Hence, it is important to prioritise their lives above anything else in this situation.

As they all began running, the two Dopants heard their footsteps and noticed the group on the fourth floor. With their supernatural abilities, T-Rex and Magma leapt to the floor where Hiro and the others were and appeared right in front of them. Kirito and his friends were surprised from how the Dopants could pull off such physics violating stunts. However, Hiro and Ayumu had already aware that Dopants had such abilities, so it is not surprising.

"You saw us, right?" said T-Rex with a mix of masculine and feminine voice. "Sorry but you're not escaping alive!" Magma declared with a pure masculine voice. "I won't allow that!" Hiro proclaimed, taking out the Memory Gadgets and insert their respective Pseudo Memories. **"Bat. Spider. Stag"** The gadgets transformed into their Live Mode and began distracting the Dopants. Bat Shot flashes at both enemies to temporarily blind their sights while Spider Shock shoots out strings at T-Rex to tie her up. As for Stag Phone, it frequently dived and crashed onto Magma from left to right, up and down.

"Now! Run!" Hiro commanded, and everyone made the sprint for it. They all went to the nearest emergency exit and somehow somewhat managed to escape from the building. The Memory Gadgets came afterwards, still intact and revert to their Gadget Mode. "Everyone, are you okay?" Hiro asked worriedly. "Somehow…" Lisbeth answered.

Then, they heard the buzzing siren coming and everyone saw a lot of patrol cars along with a few fire engines and ambulances arrived at the scene before the people in those vehicles get out. Of course, among the people from the cops were Officer Kagami Tetsuo and Nobu Kouji. Hiro and the others went to approach Kagami as the other officers, armed with shields and protective gears infiltrate the shopping building.

"Kagami-san!" the detective called out. "Hiro! What are you doing here?!" questioned Kagami, surprised to see the detective on the scene. "I'm shopping with these guys. More importantly, what's going on?" said Hiro before asking.

"We received word that the criminals responsible for arson, destruction, mass and murders, Ogawa Kousuke and Tsukimura Erika are going to strike here. They caused quite the trouble for the past few months. They attack shopping complex and then demand ransom while holding a group of people as hostages. Even if you paid the ransom, they still killed the hostages and escapes. Looks like we got here too late" explained Kagami.

"What fiendish criminals…" muttered Kirito from hearing that. Even the girls were horrified when thinking about what being told to them. "Kagami-san!" everyone's attention was averted when Nobu came at them. "The criminals demand 5 billion yen in exchange for the hostages' lives. They gave us one hour and late by one second, they will kill the hostages" the subordinate informed his superior. "That dirty trick again… They'll probably killed the hostages again even if we obey them" growled Kagami and he gritted his teeth in frustration from hearing this. "What should we do?" asked Nobu worriedly, lost at what polices like them should do at this moment.

* * *

Hiro and the rest silently back out from the scene and went somewhere safer for them to discuss. They all stopped by at a park that happens to be nearby and currently resting under a garden hut. Hiro was leaning against the pillar outside with Ayumu standing beside him. As for the rest, Kirito and Recon are leaning against the pillars from the inside while all the girls sat at the seats provided in the hut. Yui and Strea's holograms are there too, standing on Asuna's left-side and right-side shoulder respectively.

"Everyone, did you hear that?" Asuna asked. "Yes… This is so cruel" stated Silica. "They killed random people and then still killed the hostages after getting the ransom paid. They are brutal!" Sinon pointed out. "We should put a stop to them and rescue the hostages" Leafa proposed. "Stop it! If you get hit by their attack, you'll get killed in one blow!" Strea warned them. The thought of that causes Shinichi's legs to shake in fear. "Then, what should we do?" asked Recon nervously. "In this case, we should ask Hiro-san's help" Yui suggested. "That's right. Hiro-kun can do something" agreed Asuna. "Hey, Hiro?" Kirito went to called out the detective before he paused upon seeing what the latter was doing.

At that time, the bluenette had his eyes close and was at the Planetary Bookshelves doing some lookup when the others were discussing. "Keyword: Ogawa Kousuke. Tsukimura Erika" he muttered. Everyone went to check out on the detective since he was not responding. "Hey, what are you doing?" asked Recon. "Shh!" Ayumu hushed them as to not let them interrupt her big brother. "Memory: Magma. T-Rex" Hiro continued muttering. Everyone else wondering what the detective was doing, talking to himself. Is he meditating or thinking out loud? Either way nobody else besides Ayumu knew what is going on.

About a few minutes later, the bluenette exits the Earth library and his eye lids opened once more. "I got it" Hiro announced. "Eh? What are you talking about?" questioned Asuna. "Recon, Ayumu and the girls stay here" Hiro ordered. "Eh?" replied Recon, who was confused by this. "All right" Ayumu replied. "Kirito. You're coming with me" Hiro said, grabbing the arm of the guy he addresses as the wild card away.

"Hey! Where are we going?!" Kirito questioned, could not comprehend what the detective was trying to pull at. Even Recon and the rest were confused too. "What's that detective thinking, taking Kirito-kun with him?" asked Asuna, curious about what is going on. "Don't worry, everyone. Believe in Onii-chan" Ayumu assured them.

* * *

Half an hour later…

Inside the same shopping complex, T-Rex and Magma are going back and forth at the foyer with a group of civilians in between them. Those civilians have failed to escape during the commotion earlier and were held hostages by these Dopants. They are cowering in fear, due to the risk of their lives can be taken away at any time. Not to mention, no representative from the police or anyone of the sort had arrived with the demanded ransom yet.

"They're late…" stated Magma. "Do you think they discarded the lives of these worthless hostages?" he questioned. "In either way, it does not matter. We're still going to kill all of them anyway" T-Rex answered, which made the hostages become even more frightened at that thought.

"Hey!" a male voice suddenly yelled, which got the attention of the Dopants and the hostages. They turned to their right and saw a man dressing as a clown, trying to juggle a few balls in circle. "The stupid fiery rock and oversized dinosaur head over there! Want to play with me, Abby the Clown?" asked the clown. "What did you call us?!" Magma growled. "We have no time to waste with you!" T-Rex retorted.

"Eh? Are you sure? I got the ransom you want here. If you want, I need you to play with me" Abby challenged the Dopants by bringing out a briefcase and show it to them. "You're not the one to decide! Give it to us! Or don't you care about the lives of these hostages?!" Magma threatened by making his hand on fire and aimed at the hostages, who cowered in fear further. "Oh, so scary… I guess Ogawa Kousuke is just a brawl but no brain!" Abby insulted in a happy-go-lucky tone.

"Don't mess with me, stupid clown!" barked Magma as he changed his aim and launched a few fireballs at the clown. Abby however, swiftly avoided them in a graceful manner, like a ballet dancer. "Where are you aiming for? I am over here" the clown questioned in mockery by making silly poses. "This guy…!" snarled Magma.

"Hey, T-Rex lady, Tsukimura Erika. I heard you wore too much make up. Is that why guys call you a middle-age grandma? I guess it cannot be helped if they think you are a 40 year old hag. It's no wonder guys aren't attracted to you" teased Abby, by imitating the act to be putting makeup on his face. "What did you call me?!" shouted T-Rex angrily. "If you're so frustrated, then try catching me, blithering idiots!" Abby taunted before he fled. "Wait!" Magma yelled as he and T-Rex went after the clown, abandoning the hostages.

* * *

A few minutes later, in the basement parking lot….

The two Dopants pursued Abby and somehow managed to corner him to a dead end. Even though the clown was mocking them earlier, now he is in a panic and so screwed for toying the villains. "You're cornered!" declared T-Rex. "Now, give us the case or you rather die here?" Magma offered some choices to the clown.

"Oh, so scary! I can't run away…!" whined Abby. "Just kidding!" the clown's tone changed to a smirk in triumph as he quickly opened the briefcase, only for the Memory Gadgets, Bat Shot, Spider Shock and Stag Phone in their Live Mode to come out and immobilised the Dopants with their abilities. During that chance of an opening, the clown burst his way through and get as far as possible from the Dopants before the gadgets return to where Abby was.

The Dopants somehow managed to get themselves back on track and look around to find the clown, only to find him standing way farther than them. Of course, they were annoyed with what had happened. "What's the meaning of this?!" snarled Magma.

"Too bad. You guys fell for our trap!" Kirito's voice answered as the said man comes out from one of the pillars nearby the clown before standing on Abby's left. "What?!" gasped T-Rex. Then, Abby grabbed his clown outfit, pulled off and threw them, only to reveal that he was Oozora Hiro in disguise before putting the black fedora on his head. The Dopants were surprised to see this.

"Just as I thought, you two are prone towards insults and act on impulse rather than thinking about it first. Ogawa Kousuke hates people making fun of him and Tsukimura Erika was sensitive about being people calling her" said the detective as he confirmed his deductions, recalling the info he learns from the Planetary Bookshelves regarding the criminal's habits.

"You! Don't tell me you did that to lure us away from the hostages?!" guessed Magma in shock. As the fiery Dopant mentioned this, the rescue workers infiltrated the and saved the hostages, bringing them to safety.

"Realising that now is too late!" remarked Kirito. "Now, Kirito. Let's do it!" Hiro declared. "Yeah!" Kirito replied, taking out the red device with two Memory Slots, Double Driver and puts it on his waist. The Double Driver began its mechanism and formed a belt with a Maximum Slot around Kirito's waist. A moment afterwards, another Double Driver suddenly appeared on Hiro's own waist as well.

Kirito was surprised to see this occurring and had no idea what is going on. He was about to ask the detective about it, but he decides to play along with it. The detective then brings out a green Gaia Memory, called the Cyclone Memory and pressed the button on it with his left hand. **"Cyclone"**

Hiro then glanced at Kirito, making a face gesture that suggest him to bring out a Gaia Memory as well. The black swordsman then took out one as well and he picked Joker Memory, mainly because he has obsession for black aesthetic things before pressing the button on it too, using his right hand. **"Joker"**

"Henshin!" the detective then looked forward and yelled the said word determinedly while pointing the memory to the right. "H-Henshin…" Kirito stutteringly imitated Hiro while doing it in the opposite direction.

Hiro began by inserting the Cyclone Memory to the right Memory slot, which then digitally transferred to the right slot of Kirito's belt. There was a brief silent as the black swordsman looked at the driver and puzzled with what just happened. "It came here?" Kirito muttered in confusion.

Hiro noticed that Kirito was slow on the uptake and did not make any move. The left side guy just stared at his driver where Cyclone memory appeared on the right-side slot. Hence, he faced Kirito, quickly pushed the green memory properly, grabbed his right hand holding the Joker Memory and made him insert it to the left slot before spreading the Driver on his waist into a W-shape. **"Cyclone Joker"** the Double Driver announced while emitting the virtual shapes of those memories' initial before merging together. During that time, Hiro made a peace sign while holding his fedora towards Kirito before the former moved a few steps away and slowly collapsed on the floor. Of course, the driver played the music from technical guitar to orchestral hit simultaneously.

An animation takes place, with colour bits and electricity around Kirito and his face having circuit lines and ports before those bits pasted on him. It turns him into an identical figure like Kamen Rider Cyclone. Except this time, there is a few differences. First, there is a silver and black stripe on the symmetrical line that divides them into two different colours. Second, the right side is the usual Cyclone body while the left side had a black body with purple shades that has identical shaped with Cyclone's gold anklets, wristbands, anklets and stripes. Third, this form is called Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker, with the left side deciding on the fighting style while the right side is the enhancement for it. The only part that retains for both sides were the eyes colour and the W-shaped antenna on the head.

Explanations aside, Kirito himself was too flustered with Hiro collapsing in front of him and the former looked at himself being a Kamen Rider. The same goes with the Dopants. "I… transformed?" muttered Kirito.

"What are you, half-and-half jerk!?" growled Magma. "Half and half?" echoed Kirito confusedly. He then looks at a nearby convex mirror hanging by one of the corners and saw what he really was what T-Rex said. A half and half looking Kamen Rider. "What is this?!" screamed Kirito as he began touching his body and look on it. "I become a half-and-half monster!"

"It's not a half-and-half monster! It's W (Double)! Kamen Rider W!" Hiro's voice suddenly yelled angrily to Kirito, with Double's right eye flashing a few times as the former speaks and corrected the statement. "Hiro?!" gasped Kirito surprisingly before he looks at the detective's body that is still unconscious. "You… your body is there but your voice is loud like it was in my mind" he replied. "That's because I am in your mind! My mind transferred to you upon transforming" Hiro pointed out bluntly.

"Eh?! Is that even possible?!" Kirito panicky yelled, could not believe what just happened. "More importantly, are you going to fight them or not?" Hiro reminded his partner with sarcasm. "Oh. All right! Let's do it!" Kirito declared and puts himself in a fighting stance, with both fists rising.

T-Rex then came charging at high speed, dragging Cyclone Joker along until they crashed onto the wall before the Dopants back off. Of course, Kirito yelped in pain because it was his body after all and did not expect this to happen. Not to mention, he did not have any weapon and he himself is not particularly good in hand to hand combat.

"Hey! Do I have a weapon like your sword?" asked Kirito as he gets up. "None!" Hiro answered bluntly, which made the left side of W becomes dumbfounded. "Eh?! You got to be kidding me?!" gulped Kirito. "I'm not! Joker's specialty isn't on using weapons but enhances physical abilities. In other words, you need to do unarmed combat" explained Hiro. "You should have told me that before! I'm more used with sword fighting!" Kirito berated. "Do you ever learn that black aesthetics does not mean fighting with swords?" Hiro retorted.

"What nonsense are you babbling about?!" Magma barked, which got the attention of the bicoloured Kamen Rider. At that time, the fiery Dopant had come besides T-Rex as Double had an internal dispute between themselves. Magma blasted Cyclone Joker by summoning a wave of flame pillars that came from the ground, sending the bicoloured Kamen Rider flying again and got floored. Kirito, once again, had to bear most of the pain, mainly because he was the body. "Ow…! I'm not used with hand-to-hand combat" yelped Kirito as he whined, which made Hiro sighed in displeasure. "It cannot be helped. Let me pilot your body" Hiro requested.

"Eh? Pilot? My body?" Kirito repeated in confusion. "Just let me do it!" Hiro yelled. "Okay…" replied Kirito before he gets up on his feet once more. Magma then came forward, attempting to delivering the finisher. Then, Cyclone Joker suddenly moved on its own under Hiro's control and attacked Magma with a punch to enemy's face, sending him flying. Afterwards, T-Rex came charging at the bicoloured Kamen Rider, attempting to ram at him. However, Cyclone Joker leaped to avoid this attack before delivering a left back kick to the dinosaur's head, forcing her to stumble a little.

"Amazing…" Kirito muttered in awe as his body landed safely. "We're just lucky. To be honest, there's a huge lag in response time when I take full control of your body's movement. It's just by coincidence that I thought I need to act earlier earlier. I'm sure you noticed that even though we did that kind of stunt" Hiro informed his partner. "Then, what should I do?" asked Kirito. "I need you to handle the moving and avoiding. The body is yourself, after all" Hiro answered. "I think I can handle the moving and avoiding but it's been a while I tried unarmed combat" Kirito admitted regarding his fighting experience. "Then, leave that part to me. I'll guide you step by step and correct whatever error in your movement regarding offense. You're not fighting alone" assured Hiro. "Hiro…" muttered Kirito and felt touched from such motivating words. "That's right…I'm counting on you!"

"All right, Kirito. Let's say that catchphrase together" suggested Hiro. "Wait, do you mean the one you said to those villains back when you saved me and my friends?" guessed Kirito. "That's right" Hiro confirmed. "I like that so why not? Let's do it!" said Kirito enthusiastically. As the two talked about this, they then noticed the Dopants had get up on their feet once more, which makes it the perfect timing to say the catchphrase and continue their battle.

"Now, count up your sins!" both Kirito and Hiro yelled as the former, being the Cyclone Joker's body, raised his left hand, flicked it before pointing towards the Dopants. T-Rex and Magma were enraged, and they started charging towards the bicoloured Kamen Rider.

Slowly, with Hiro's guide and Kirito's fast natural reflexes, they managed to get the situation to their favour. First, Cyclone Joker went after Magma, who in turn, launches a few fireballs. With Kirito's natural reflexes, the bicoloured Kamen Rider dodged them by leaping, causing the fireballs to hit T-Rex, with two of them hitting the eyes by accident as they continue to burn. In turn, the dinosaur Dopant felt the pain on her sight being blinded by flames and caused her unable to act or assist her accomplice. "Erika!" yelled Magma worriedly for his partner. "Don't get distracted!" barked Kirito.

The fiery Dopant then saw the bicoloured Kamen Rider came at the former, delivering a few punches and kicks interchangeably before the last attack hurled Magma away. "All right, let's finish this guy off with Joker Extreme for the Memory Break. Pull out the Joker Memory and insert it to the Maximum Slot on your right waist" ordered Hiro as he guided his partner what to do. "Okay" responded Kirito before Cyclone Joker pulled out the Joker Memory and insert it to the mentioned slot. **"Joker. Maximum Drive"**

Cyclone Joker slowly floats to the air with the wind supporting the Kamen Rider in temporarily staying on the air. The bicoloured Kamen Rider then pressed the button on the Maximum Slot before plunging with both legs pointing towards the fiery Dopant. "Joker Extreme!" As they yelled and dived for the finishing move, the left and right sides split, with Joker in lead, followed by Cyclone before their kicks met Magma, triggering an explosion.

The outcome of the detonation was that Cyclone Joker noticed a man with messy brown hair, green eyes, wearing white clothes and brown pants slowly fainted while having swollen marks below their eyes. Simultaneously, a red Gaia Memory with ribcage design, brown plugs and the letter 'M' with the shaped of an erupted volcano for Magma slowly falling at a few metres away from the said user, Ogawa Kousuke before it breaks and fall to the floor.

Of course, it is not just the bicoloured Kamen Rider that noticed this but the accomplice to this criminal as well. The dinosaur Dopant somehow managed to recover and shake off the flames on her eyes but the scene of her partner, Kousuke being forced to return to his human form was shocking. "Kousuke! Why you!" T-Rex yelled out before growling towards Cyclone Joker. Then the dinosaur Dopant roared as loud as she can, releasing a strong sound wave that shatters the surrounding into rubbles.

The bicoloured Kamen Rider was forced to block the wave with his arm. It does not stop there though. The rubbles formed then get attracted towards the Dopant and accumulated. As this process occurs, the debris forms a body and grow larger below the head of the dinosaur. Upon completion, this Dopant becomes identical to a real T-Rex but with the physique made of rubbles.

The left half of the bicoloured Kamen Rider was shocked to see the outcome of this phenomenon. "No way! It became a real T-Rex!" exclaimed Kirito before T-Rex shrieked ferociously. "Brace yourself! She's coming!" Hiro warned, and Cyclone Joker went to a guarding stance.

The dinosaur Dopant then whipped its tail to throw a piece of rubble nearby her towards the bicoloured Kamen Rider, who in turn smashed it with a kick. However, that is nothing more than just a bait, because T-Rex came charging when Cyclone Joker was preoccupied and managed to fetch the latter on his right shoulder by using the dinosaur mouth.

Then the dinosaur Dopant then leaped, crashing onto the ceilings and reached the surface from the made holes while dragging the bicoloured Kamen Rider along with her. The surface where they came out were still inside the shopping complex, on the ground floor to be specific.

T-Rex, upon exiting the basement, lobbed the gnawed Cyclone Joker that the latter crashed and rolled onto the other side of the glass windows. Somehow somewhat, Kirito managed to stop his body from rolling and gets up on his feet. Then, the bicoloured Kamen Rider rushed and leaped towards the T-Rex to deliver a flying punch on the head. However, the giantized Dopant did not budge a bit from that attack. Instead, T-Rex encountered by headbutting Cyclone Joker, sending him flying again.

"This one sure is tough… I think I need to increase my offence here" said Kirito as he sprawled on the floor. "Then, let's do it hot. Let's change my right side" Hiro suggested before the bicoloured Kamen Rider gets up to his feet. Then, Cyclone Joker, under Hiro's control, took out a red Gaia Memory, with a fiery 'H' for Heat and pressed it. **"Heat"**

Afterwards, he pushed the Double Driver back to its initial state, took out the Cyclone Memory, replace it with Heat Memory and then spread it apart again. **"Heat Joker"** The right side of Double then began to change, with the sparkling muffler on Cyclone vanished and the body turns red plus orange stripes while the body structure maintained. Now, they had become Kamen Rider W Heat Joker.

Afterwards, the bicoloured Kamen Rider then approached T-Rex and deliver a fiery punch with his right fist towards her head. The attack works, and that dinosaur Dopant got bang. Furthermore, Heat Joker continued doing that for a few times, pushing T-Rex back before delivering a flying punch that completely hurled her at a few hundred metres away. The dinosaur Dopant, knowing that she could not win against the bicoloured Kamen Rider, gets up and decides to flee. "Oh no, she's getting away!" exclaimed Kirito. "No problem, we'll chase after her!" Hiro declared as he takes control, bringing out the Stag Phone and then presses a combination code on it.

Not long afterwards, a black giant truck with a big rotating wheel and slightly a bit of Kamen Rider W's face and antennae arrived to where Heat Joker was. Kirito was amazed to see this big vehicle known as RevolGarry but even more when it opens up and had a black front, green rear Honda CBR1000RR like superbike stored in it. Likewise, it even has the Kamen Rider W's design on the front and the name for this bike was called Hard-Boilder.

"You know how to ride a bike, right?" asked Hiro. "Of course!" Kirito replied confidently as he had taken his license and rode a bike, with his sister and even Asuna in the city before. Then, Heat Joker went and rode the Hard-Boilder before revving up the throttle to depart with a sprint.

* * *

T-Rex went into the freeway by going against the lane direction as she flees, causing all nearby vehicles to make emergency brakes and turned as much as possible to not get crashed onto the monster. However, the dinosaur Dopant just rammed through the ones in her way, shot them all away, mainly because she was aware that Heat Joker gave chase.

The bicoloured Kamen Rider continued pursuing T-Rex on Hard-Boilder until they reached to an intersection under a bridge. While at it, the dinosaur Dopant broke the metal structures that falls to block the road with the intention to shake off the pursuer. Heat Joker avoided the first few but when Kirito could not avoid the incoming obstacles, Hiro take the precaution by having Hard-Boilder do a drift. Somehow, the bicoloured Kamen Rider managed to go under the narrow gap and avoid getting hurt concurrently before continuing their pursuit.

After an unexpectedly longwinded chase, Heat Joker managed to catch up with T-Rex when she exited the freeway and went into the city. However, the dinosaur Dopant decides to flee again but this time by running over the wall and reached the top of a multi-storey car park, leaving the Kamen Rider unable to follow her.

Of course, that is not fully true because RevolGarry had arrive to give assistance. Under Hiro's instruction, Kirito had the Hard-Boilder entered the big vehicle and does a reverse parking for the green rear part before getting away from it. Afterwards, when the rotating wheel turns to the red rear extension with folded wings and boosters, the black front of the bike linkup to it. Upon complete linkup, the front wheel flipped into horizontal position and the wings unfold. Now, the bicoloured Kamen Rider is riding on a hovercraft like vehicle called Hard-Turbular.

Subsequently, Hard-Turbular took off and went after T-Rex. The dinosaur Dopant, realising that fleeing is not an option until Heat Joker was defeated, whipped her tail to shoot debris at her opponent. The bicoloured Kamen Rider managed to avoid that and even leaped to dodge the incoming tail swipe before landing back on the hovercraft. Afterwards, Heat Joker counterattack by firing the artilleries installed on Hard-Turbular at T-Rex. The dinosaur Dopant refused to give up and attacked with the debris shots plus trying to gobble the bicoloured Kamen Rider. Somehow, somewhat, Heat Joker managed to avoid all that and flew at a higher attitude, which is beyond T-Rex's attack range.

"Kirito! Let's change our fighting style. Take out the Metal Memory and do what I just did before" ordered Hiro. "All right" Kirito replied. Then, Heat Joker took out a Grey Gaia Memory with a metallic M for Metal and pressed the button on it, using his left hand. **"Metal"**

Afterwards, Kirito imitated the steps Hiro did before for Memory Change but this time, on the left side. **"Heat Metal"** the left side of W changed colour from black with purple stripes to grey with sparkling silver stripes. Simultaneously, the driver played a Rock & roll guitar music to metallic synth sound. Now, they had changed into Kamen Rider W Heat Metal. Unlike Joker, Metal had a weapon hanging on the back of the body, which is an extendable quarter staff called Metal Shaft. Kirito, realising that he has a weapon behind him, draws and holds it with both hands as the stated equipment automatically extends.

Subsequently, Heat Metal, with Hard-Turbular on autopilot charged towards T-Rex. The dinosaur Dopant attacks by shooting debris from her body again, which forced the bicoloured Kamen Rider to dodge or deflect with the Metal Shaft, slowing down his movement.

"Let's finish this with Metal Branding. Just like earlier, take out the left side memory but this time insert it to this Metal Shaft" ordered Hiro while Kirito did the avoiding and dodging. "Okay!" replied Kirito. When he noticed an opening, the Kamen Rider took out the Metal Memory and loads it into the Metal Shaft. **"Metal. Maximum Drive"**

One end of the Metal Shaft, which is not hold by any of the hands lit up with blazing flames like a big lighter. Then, Heat Metal charged towards T-Rex while avoiding all the incoming debris attack until they managed to get as close as possible.

"Metal Branding!" Heat Metal, on the Hard Tubular smacked the lighted flames on the dinosaur's face before getting away from the Dopant. Their attacks triggered an explosion and T-Rex explodes, with all the rubble body collapsing into debris once more. When the explosion subsides, a woman with blonde hair, yellow eyes and wearing a black jacket over a white, slightly loosen one-piece dress and black shoes, named Tsukimura Erika was seen standing before she collapsed. The black Gaia Memory with ribcage design and a Tyrannosaurus-Rex head opening its mouth shaping for a T, representing T-Rex came out from slightly below her left shoulder and broke into pieces.

* * *

20 minutes later…

Heat Joker brings Erika and her damaged Gaia Memory back to where her accomplice was. Next, the bicoloured Kamen Rider undo the transformation, reverting to Kirito while Hiro regained his consciousness. Following that, the detective contacted Officer Kagami to come at the basement to arrest the criminals. Afterwards, when the police took away Erika and Kousuke, Hiro and Kirito went to meet Recon and the girls by the entrance. The group came there out of worry upon hearing the ruckus that was caused by the Dopants, especially from T-Rex grows as a real carnivore dinosaur.

"You two, are you okay?!" Asuna asked worriedly. "Well, this guy's okay… I think. But I got beaten up quite bad" answered Kirito as he tried to move his arms. "Beaten up?" echoed Leafa. "What happened?" asked Lisbeth. "Well, I'll explain things later. First, let's go pick up the shopping bags and head to the dorm" Hiro cut in and told everyone.

* * *

Half an hour later…

Kirito and the rest followed Hiro and Ayumu to the dorm that is suggested by the detective's informants after fetching all the bought items. The name of that place was called Stream Dormitory. They went to the entrance, which had a spacious foyer, complete with a reception counter, cupboards, along with other relatable furniture. After meeting the landlord and getting things settled like assigning the room and packing up their stuffs, they all went to the meeting room to discuss what happened today.

The shopping, battle and then unpacking had took a lot of time and now it is already 9:00 pm. That aside, everyone takes their seat in the meeting room. Yui and Strea's hologram appeared as well, sitting on Leafa's shoulders. Hiro sat beside the black swordsman.

"Very well, let's start the meeting" Asuna started by taking the lead. "First and foremost, will you two explained what is going on? What were you doing?" she asked, referring to Kirito and Hiro. The black swordsman was nervous and glanced at the detective replied with a nod, signalling it is all right for him to say. "How should I say this? I (ore) became a Kamen Rider" Kirito stated. "Eh?!" everyone else yelled, including Ayumu. However, the detective seems annoyed that the statement missed an important point and elbowed the guy beside him. "It's not I, it's we (ore-tachi)!" Hiro corrected.

"Wait, two? I don't get it!" Recon whined in confusion. "To be precise, my consciousness transferred to Kirito's body. In other words, two minds in one body. When transformed, my body will go unconscious but on the other hand, I can even control Kirito's body when fighting and talk as well. Oh, I had Bat Shot snapped some photos. This photo is one of them" explained Hiro before he took out a photo, which everyone else except the partner beside him can see what the photo was about.

"Wait, when did you get this printed?" asked Kirito sceptically, wondering how the detective get a photo printed when he was with them the whole time. "Don't sweat the small details" retorted Hiro to avoid the question before putting the photo on the table for everyone else to see. It is a photo of Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker.

There was a short silence, possibly out of awe. However, that does not seem to be the case because the rest had a weird look on their face instead of amaze. "This is…" trailed Silica. "The right side is green" said Yui. "The left side is black" followed Strea. "Half-and-half monster!" exclaimed Lisbeth. The half-and-half part causes the detective to fall in face fault style. "It's not half-and-half monster! That's W! Kamen Rider Double!" Hiro angrily corrected.

"No. No matter how you look at it, it is half-and-half" Sinon said sceptically. "Geez! Don't judge a book by its cover!" whined Hiro. "There's always a logical for it to be having a design like this. This form uses two Gaia Memories at the same time. The right side is Cyclone and that's me. Cyclone Memory gives a boost in speed. The left side is Joker and that's Kirito. Joker Memory enhances the user's physical ability and reflexes. In other words, this form is Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker, a warrior of technique with high agility" he explained.

"Oh, that's why it looks half-and-half" concluded Ayumu. "Will you cut it out with the half-and-half part?" snarked Hiro with a deadpan look, annoyed to still hear someone mentioning the half-and-half term. "That aside. How did this happen? What were you two doing when the rest of us are at the park" asked Asuna. "Oh, that…" Kirito started as he tried to recall what happened.

* * *

(Flashback)

At the Asaka Detective Agency…

Kirito and Hiro are there, with the former waiting by the entrance as the latter went into the door with many fedoras hanging. After a few minutes, the detective came out from there and approached the guy he called the wild card. The bluenette takes out Kirito's right hand and put something on it.

It was a red device and have two slots to insert Gaia Memories. Kirito was puzzled from just looking at this. "What is this?" he asked the detective. "This is the Double Driver" answered Hiro.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Kirito again, could not comprehend the relevance of giving him this item. "I can't explain everything now, but I can say one thing. I need your strength. Put this on your waist and it will become a belt" Hiro started before he remembered something. "Oh, before I forgot…"

The detective then took out three Gaia Memories, each with gold plug and hand them over to Kirito. The name of the memories are Joker, Metal and Trigger with black, grey and blue colour respectively. "Gaia Memories?" muttered Kirito as he looked at the memories on his other hand. "Choose one of these memories you want to use and put it into this gold line slot" Hiro guided him, by showing which side of the memory slots to use for the gold plug memories. "I'll explain the rest when we use this in battle"

(Flashback end)

* * *

"Afterwards, Hiro told me to be on standby at the basement while he, dressed as a clown distracts the Dopants away from the hostages and had the officers rescue them. I don't really understand why since he didn't explain anything. Whatever it is, I just to play along instead of asking more questions" Kirito concluded.

"Why Kirito-san?" asked Recon suddenly. "Huh?" everyone else glanced to Shinichi with a confused look. "It's been in my mind. Out of everyone here, why you choose Kirito-san to do this job? Does it have to be him?" asked Recon curiously. "I am curious too. Why me?" followed Kirito, who wonders why he himself was chosen.

"Let's start with W's transformation system. It had some rules that it needs to follow. First, the right side must be me. I still haven't figure out why I was registered in such a way but when a person equips Double Driver, another copy should appear on his/her partner's body. But in this case, it appears only on me. As for the left side, to be honest, it can be just anybody, whether male or female, children or adults. Second, to bring out the full potential for W's abilities, the user needs to have high compatibility with the used Gaia Memories. That's pretty much it for the system rules. The rest of it was pretty much personal opinions" explained Hiro.

"What are they?" asked Ayumu. "First, I need someone who's experience in fighting, regardless if it's just one. In that term, the best possible candidates are Asuna-san, Leafa-san, Sinon-san and Kirito. But Kirito would never involve his friends in danger, especially if it is his friends or family. Apart from that, I think the girls would outright refuse even if I ask and explain things properly. Second, I need someone who knew how to ride a bike. If you consider this, only Kirito can do that because he had taken his motorcycle license. Of course, even if they do not have license yet, I can still teach them how to ride one properly. Third, it's my detective instinct" elucidated Hiro. "What does that mean?" asked Sinon.

"To be honest, Kirito was the first person to try the W's Transformation System as the body. Of course, I could had just asked anyone, but I'm worried they could not handle the burden to fight on longer period, aside from their own stamina. Furthermore, like Kirito, I can't risk my own family members to take on that job, especially if they're ladies. So, I decided to take a bet that he might be the right person to do this" explained Hiro. "I hope I've answered your question properly, Recon"

"Yes. You did. Thank you" Recon thanked the detective. However, Kirito's girlfriend did not seem to like the idea that the bluenette chooses her own lover to do this. "You… Don't you realised what you're doing is wrong?" Asuna try to point out politely without trying to get raged. The detective then had a short silent from hearing that question before he stood and walk a few steps away from them.

"Indeed, this is wrong, especially when if it involves someone from the past. I wish I could explain things in order, but the situation today was desperate. But right now, that dangerous organisation is getting stronger as we speak. And they're making this city cry" Hiro explained, and his hands frustratingly clenched into fist on the last sentence. Everyone else noticed this as well. "Unfortunately, as of now, I might not be able to bring them down alone" Hiro said before turning to everyone again, but specifically Kirito. "With that in mind, I need your power, Kirito. Will you lend me your power and fight together with me?" he requested.

Everyone else stared at the person whom Hiro requested help from, wondering what he would say. "All right. I'll help" Kirito agreed with a grin, which in turn puts a shocking expression on Asuna and the girls. "Hold it, Kirito-kun! What are you thinking?!" Asuna asked her boyfriend worriedly. "Onii-chan, do you realised what you're getting yourself into?" Leafa warned her big brother.

"I know. Like everyone, I want to go back. But, even if I refused, there's no denying that we could get into danger too, just like what happened today. As of now… No. No matter where we are, we cannot avoid danger. It'll come to us whether we're ready or not" Kirito told them. "Kirito-kun…" muttered Asuna. "Plus, haven't we all agree to go on board with him? That means, we all agreed to bear whatever risk that would come at us later. Plus, I'm just glad that I'm not going to be sitting ducks until we get back. It's kind of thrilling, you know, fighting against an evil organisation" Kirito said optimistically. The detective seemed pleased to hear that and went to approach the black swordsman before putting his arm on the latter's shoulder, much to Kirito's surprise.

"Then, it's decided. You and I are now officially the two in one detective and Kamen Rider. With that in mind, I need you to help with my detective work. Let's get along, partner" declared Hiro, not before addressing Kirito as 'Partner'. "Detective?! Work?!" exclaimed Kirito weirdly. He did not expect to be doing some labour work or something but being a detective was not on his list for career.

"As of now, I cannot really appear on the scene often because my body is vulnerable to enemy's attack. So, I need you to do investigation in my stead. Of course, I will formulate the plan as we fight and help you with detective's work from this office while you go gather information on the scene and from my informants. Oh, and the fact that we're a Kamen Rider is a secret from the public so don't just go transforming anywhere where people are present. We don't want them to get caught in our battle" explained Hiro as he gives some reminders.

"Wait, how are you supposed to help from the office if you don't even come along? What you can do at the office is more limited than what you can do by going to the scene and ask information. Even if you contact each other by phone. It's still limited" Asuna pointed out. "No problem" Hiro answered confidently before releasing his hands-off Kirito and stood. "No problem… How?" asked Silica.

"I think I should explain it properly now. I can do things like Yui and Strea" Hiro told them. "You mean gather information from internet or something?" guessed Lisbeth. "If that's the case, can't you just leave it to them?" Sinon suggested. The detective glanced at his little sister, who look at him and the former gave a nod, signalling her to tell everyone something.

"Onii-chan is a bit different than normal humans. He has special power and that is the access to the Planetary Bookshelves" Ayumu told everyone. "Planetary Bookshelves?" everyone else echoed.

"I used that to investigate your backgrounds while we're on the bus. That's how I know every detail regarding you guys. Of course, one of the reasons I chose Kirito to become W with me was because it's the most effective method to fight against those Dopants" explained Hiro. "Still, I can't understand the relevance to what you're saying" Lisbeth complained, still could not comprehend the meaning behind the new term.

"Let's start from the basic. Onii-chan have access to the infinite archive. Simply saying, all knowledges on Earth is in his head. Information regarding Dopant and Gaia Memories are there too. Of course, if you really need it, he can do a lookup for a company's private and confidential information like their blueprints and data as well. Hypothetically speaking though" explained Ayumu. The thoughts of gaining a company's trade secrets and classified information was scary to Kirito and his friends. Of course, it is. That is no different than intruding access to people's rights, not to mention plagiarism along with other possible offences.

"Seriously?! That's just how much people can abuse their natural gift" Kirito remarked, which the detective shrugged off with a chuckle. "Don't worry, I am not that stupid to do such thing for personal gains" assured Hiro. "But, unlike Yui and Strea. I am still a human, so I can't process information as fast as them. And I cannot read all the books. It takes too much time" he added. "Then, what should you do?" asked Strea.

"Have you ever tried borrowing a book from a library or search for certain information on the net by yourself before?" Hiro asked them. "Yeah, we do. What does that have to do with this?" Sinon asked back after answering. "How do you guys search for a specific book or topic?" Hiro asked again. "Well, we type what we want to search for" said Suguha. "In other words, keywords" Yui rephrased.

"Exactly. If you tell me the proper keywords like names, date or whatever terms you think is the clue, I can par down the information as much as possible. But, believe me when I said this. I asked question directly to Earth's will. In other words, I'm trying to get Earth to tell me the truth of whatever I wish to know and verify whatever deductions I come up with. If you want to know the truth or not sure the deduction you come up with is right or wrong, let me know. I'll verify it for you" Hiro told them. "That sure is a lot. I can't really catch up" said Silica, confused with all the lengthy explanation. "Me too" Strea agreed. "Me three" followed Yui.

"I guess I'll demonstrate during when we got a case and there's something bothering you. Of course, don't forget keywords. I can't proceed if I don't know them. By that time, I'm sure you will clearly understand what I mean" Hiro concluded.

"Hold on a second!" Asuna called out suddenly, which everyone had their attention on her. "Why are you telling us this? Didn't you said that it is dangerous for past people to know much about the future" she questioned.

"Normally, to prevent past people from messing up the future that was supposed to be, their memories they gain from the future must be erased. But, too bad, I am against doing that and don't have any ability to do so. The other method is you guys must promise to keep whatever you learn here among yourselves and that knowledge to your grave. Of course, the second method is riskier due to the possibility of those information being tipped off. But if it's you guys, I think I can entrust you with this promise" Hiro explained. "You…" Kirito muttered, somehow could not believe the detective decides to trust them.

"Plus, I'm the one asking help from this guy here and these two AIs. It's too problematic if they did not know or understand what I can do" the bluenette added. "Well, that's true…" concurred Kirito.

"In any case, I need you to wear appropriately when going for work, Kirito. Your cloth sizing is no different than mine, so I lent you some of my clothes. Just so you know, it's formal or in my language, **_hard-boiled_** " Hiro reminded his partner. "Honestly, I don't want to become a detective. Looks like I have no choice" sighed Kirito. "Um… what do you mean by **_hard-boiled_**?" asked Recon.

"Thought you wouldn't ask that. Then, let me explain. _'Not being swayed no matter the situation. It's a man-among-men lifestyle.'_ That is… **_hard-boiled_.** As for me. This hat is a proof that I am hard-boiled detective, a man of iron who acts without being swayed by emotions" explained Hiro in a cool "charming stud" persona, while emphasising the fedora he wore on his head. Recon seems to understand and noddingly agree with the detective's statement while the girls, especially Asuna, Suguha, Lisbeth and Sinon were sceptical about it.

Of course, the bluenette's little sister was aware that his statement was more hypocritical rather than the truth. She thinks it is time she blabs out the truth to everyone. "In Onii-chan's case, it's not hard-boiled, he's **_half-boiled_**!" Ayumu corrected with a scorn towards the mentioned person.

Of course, the said person could not bear with his own little sister making a fool out of him. "Will you cut it out with the half part already?!" Hiro berated. "No way!" Ayumu refuses with mockery before sticking out her tongue and pressing down the skin below right eye, as in to show a silly ghost face. This action no doubts infuriates Hiro even more and causes him to go after his little sister, who knew this was coming and swiftly ran out from the meeting room.

The bluenette was frustrated that running is Ayumu's good point and decides to chase her. However, before exiting the room, he stops to give a final message to everyone else. "In any case, take it easy for today, everyone. See you tomorrow, Kirito" Hiro said before looking to the exit. "Wait! Ayumu!" he yelled and went to pursue his little sister. Kirito, Recon, Strea, and Yui were puzzled while the rest except Sinon gave out an awkward chuckle from what happened. "Wow, that's **_so_** not hard-boiled" Sinon commented with a deadpan look.

* * *

The next day…

Kirito being the new detective in the office was reading a book about the basics of being a detective. The newbie was against doing this but Hiro being the senpai (senior) there had to make sure his kouhai (junior) grasp the basics even if Kirito call himself an expert at problem solving in the past. Before that, the black swordsman had to try out the clothes his partner brought from home. Now, he is wearing something akin to Hiro, which is a dress shirt, a pair slacks, a necktie, a waistcoat. Most of his outfit was black, except the necktie was white while Hiro's own was white in overall.

As for the senior detective, he was typing a report, on a typewriter with Roman words in Japanese language instead of a computer. "Hiro. Why are you writing on a typewriter when computers already existed? I cannot comprehend" Kirito questioned. "It's for case-filling purposes. Don't ask me any further" Hiro answered with a cold attitude. "Fine…" Kirito grumbled before continue reading the book.

"Hey, Kirito. Do you mind if I ask something?" Hiro asked a minute later before he stopped typing. "What is it?" replied Kirito, wondering what his partner wants to ask. "Why this office suddenly becomes crowded?!" Hiro questioned angrily.

Kirito then looked at his surrounding and saw what his partner meant. Leafa, Asuna, Sinon, Silica, Lisbeth and Recon are at different sections of the office, each enjoying a cup of coffee. Asuna and Strea holograms are there on Asuna's shoulders, leisurely having their own conversation. Even the black swordsman just noticed this when his partner reminded about it. Of course, everyone else heard the detective's outburst but decides to ignore him. "Is it wrong?" asked Kirito. "Of course! This place is already cramped to begin with even with just three people. I don't know what you're planning but my office isn't your fun place for ladies" Hiro berated before looking to where everyone else was. "More importantly why you guys are leisurely enjoying coffee in this office?!" he questioned.

"It's obvious. We came here to work. Leafa-chan and I can prepare and serve drinks and snacks to customers. Lis, Silica-chan and Recon-kun does gadget maintenance" Asuna answered casually. "Hold it! I don't remember assigning the rest of you to such role! Who give you permission to do that?" Hiro questioned angrily, demanding to know who told everyone to come here.

"Oh, about that…" Leafa was about to say before there is an interruption. "Thanks for the wait!" a familiar young female voiced yelled. Everyone else turned to the voice and saw Ayumu coming it with a rectangle-shaped wood, perhaps some sort of table surface or a poster. "Did I kept you waiting?" she asked.

"No one's waiting!" Hiro yelled. "More importantly, what are you here for, Ayumu?" he asked, wondering why his little sister is at the office. "Rejoice, Onii-chan. Ta-da!" Ayumu delightedly declared before revealing the back side of the item she was holding. It is a new signboard for the business. It has a light blue background with white polka dots and the name 'Asaka Detective Agency', written in pink, Japanese text. Not to mention, there is an additional, smaller unpainted board attached beside it with a few icons like heart shaped in pink, a mini version of Ayumu herself making a peace sign, a green cap, a yellow star and a Foie Gras. What is more important than those pictures were the written text, which displayed 'Chief Asaka Ayumu'.

"AAAH!" Hiro looks at it and then yelled out of shock for a few seconds before realising the smaller part of the board. "Wait, you're the Chief?!" he exclaimed. "Wow… you sure really thought all this for us" Lisbeth commented. Hearing that causes the detective had a clue what that statement means. "It can't be… The one who told you guys to do all this was…" trailed Hiro, having a clear idea who set this up. "Yup. It's Ayumu-chan" Asuna finished and confirmed it, which causes the big brother of the stated girl to put a palm on his face.

"Now, all of us shall solve every case in half-boiled style!" Ayumu declared as she ran out of the office to put on the new signboard before Hiro try to chase after her seconds later. "Not half! It's **Hard-boiled**! **Hard-boiled**!" the big brother yelled for correction before getting out of the door.

 **The device that Kirito used to summon Yui and Strea in hologram was something akin to Personal Terminal (PET) from Rockman EXE Series. I had to make this assumption if I were to include them in the story and had a part of their own. Also, I remember that in some anime or whatever media I read of or watch from, some characters who retained their memories of the future wrote novels to spread out those memories of their time in the future, indirectly with some amendments. Of course, I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing because nobody knows.**

 **One more thing, I am aware that in Infinity Moment, Leafa and Sinon is present. I know Leafa uses her friend's Nerve Gear to enter SAO but let's just say what happened is a mix of anime and games, meaning Leafa and Sinon never appeared in the game but they appeared normally as in the anime and novel.**

 **In any case, there will be some delay for the next chapter, mainly because things are going hectic for me. Pray that I could managed things well. In any case, please Rate and Review.**


	3. Casino of Despair, Million Colosseo

**18th June 2060, Friday**

Within a certain church, it is occupied by the Elisabeth family. Currently, with all the necessary setup done, a certain ceremony, was about to be held by a small number of people, which consisted of four Dopants.

First is a chubby feminine and had sulky face with marks. Her body was made of clay, had grey leggings and bulgy head plus ears. The chest, waist, right arm, and head had lighter colour while the rest was darker brown. Apart from that, she had big boots while having shoulder pads of the same colour. The left arm is a barrel like cannon hand while the right was a fingerless fist. There are also some dotting lights on the dark brown parts, which glowed in the room that is dark itself. This Dopant is Clay Doll.

The second one is a ferocious humanoid sabre-tooth tiger with grey body, light brown furs and bloody red fangs. This one is Smilodon Dopant.

The third one is a footless, eyeless rag doll with blond grassy hairs and a small feminine faceless figurine on it. Judging from the gender, this Dopant seems to be a woman due to having a half feminine figure. The rag doll had a red-black stitches clothing and pink body with the right arm being pink and the left being black. There is a fearsome eye that has swelling orange cornea on the bottom, connecting the red black curvy pants along with red string and small gold ribbons. This Dopant is Taboo Dopant.

The fourth one is a man with black body and a few needles poking around the shoulder. He also a shaman-like mask, with golden nose and some white and pale pink-orange shades. This Dopant wore red pants and blue Barong like Crown that included a long black cape (with golden on the interior side) that goes long down his feet. There is also a golden skull like badge with hairs coming out from its mouth below his chest. This Dopant is Terror Dopant.

These Dopants had a silver buckle with golden sphere in front of them, except for Clay Doll, whose buckle was on her back. They are wearing Memory Driver. Then, a charming looking man with slightly tanned skin, orange eyes and greyish hair, wearing just a black pants and barefooted while carrying a Memory Driver, entered the room. He was escorted by Taboo Dopant from behind the curtains into the room where the other Dopants were.

"Father, this is Hayate Junnosuke-san" Taboo introduced, referring to the man that she escorted. "Oh, he looks okay" commented Clay Doll, glancing at Junnosuke from top to bottom. Smilodon growled while Terror sniggered upon seeing the said man approaching.

When Junnosuke halt his movement, he puts the Memory Driver on his waist, forming a belt. "This Memory is only for Elisabeth family members. There's a chance that this will kill you" warned Terror before he offers a golden Gaia Memory towards the said man. "Any last words?"

The other Dopants stared at Junnosuke, wondering what his decision was. Though the said man grin with confidence. "A son-in-law you can be proud of has arrived! Father" Junnosuke declared, taking the golden memory from Terror. **"Nasca"** the memory announced when pressed by the said man before inserting it onto the driver. The man instantly transformed into a cyan warrior wearing muffler and had Nazca lines in orange drawn on various parts of the body, including his face. Junnosuke, now transformed into Nasca Dopant chuckled eerily afterwards.

* * *

 **28th June 2060, Monday**

At Asaka Detective Agency…

It has been 10 days ever since Kirito and his friends arrived at this timeline. So far, nothing new happen and it seems peaceful. No Dopants causing apparent outbreak by attacking people. Nothing of that sort was heard on the news. Although, no one can imply that there is no storm behind the calm. Regardless, everyone believed it would be best if the peace lasted but that does not mean the agency is slacking off because of it. They had some simple requests from customers to get some income, which is Pet Searching.

Currently, inside the garage, Hiro is in his Complete Obsession Mode, doing a full research about what topic he wants to learn until he is satisfied. On the whiteboards, with all the messy and scattered of his handwritings, all of them had one common keyword that connects the contents, which is Pizza. He was doing an all-out research regarding Pizzas.

Kirito was there too, sleeping on the sofa like a log. Even though Hiro was being quite noisy about this so called splendid discovery about a food using ingredients like dough, pineapples, chickens and so on, the black swordsman was exhausted to care about it.

Apparently, their demeanours got the attentions of two certain girls who happened to be watching them. Those girls are Ayumu and Lisbeth, carrying a few files in their arms and they seemed quite irritated. The Chief of the agency brings out her secret weapon, a pair of green slippers with text that adapts to the situation (Text on slipper: Don't Slack off!) and slap both the guys with it, on their heads. Kirito was forced to be awake while he tries to sooth the pain on his head. Hiro did the same too, having been forced to come out from his Complete Obsession Mode. "You two! What are you two slacking off for?! If you got free time, help us with our clients' requests!" Ayumu berated them as she shoved the files she was holding to her big brother.

"Cut it out, Ayumu! Why a hard-boiled detective like me spending every single day searching for pets?!" Hiro argued, showing the files, which had photos of animals like cats, rabbits, dogs and hamsters.

"Thanks to whom again that this agency got business after we spend a fortune?! It's Chief's orders! We're still deep in the red so stop complaining and get to work!" Ayumu justified before pushing her big brother, telling him to go to work.

"Oh, fine!" Hiro spat, fed up to argue any further. "Just so you know, I still don't acknowledge you as the Chief of this place" he added before looking at the files. The little sister of the said detective then angrily smacked her big brother with the green slipper again, causing the latter to accidentally drop the files from the sudden pain.

"You got a problem?!" chastised Ayumu before Hiro gave a glare at her. "Will you two keep it down? I'm still tired" moaned Kirito as he covers his mouth with his hand while yawning.

"Speaking of which, what were you doing in these fortnights, Kirito? Everyone was doing their best in Pet Searching jobs, but you been slacking off more than us" Lisbeth questioned as the black swordsman get up from the couch and stretched out his body.

"Training. Hiro wants me to master all the possible combinations of W's forms, so we've been doing that every night. To be honest, I haven't had enough sleep" Kirito confessed.

"It's quite problematic if I had to explain everything during battles. That's why I had you do the training. It's just six memories and you just need to remember what their specialties are just by itself. Afterwards, it's just bonuses for what combination you want to use" explained Hiro as he went to pick up the fallen files. "Ah… I just wish you include a sword for Joker though. No… Make it two" Kirito suggested whiningly.

"Geez, aren't you the greedy one, is physical ability enhancement not enough for you? W itself can adapt to many kinds of situations yet you're asking the unneeded feature?" sighed Hiro. "Kirito is really a one pattern guy. Even in a gun-based game, he used a sword instead of a gun. No, Kirito is not Kirito without a sword in hand" explained Lisbeth but with a derogatory and mocking tone. "Sorry for being a one-patterned guy" snarked Kirito, which Lisbeth chuckled in response. "A swordsman for life, huh?" guessed Ayumu.

"Fine…" Hiro sighed. "I'll take that into consideration and try to make amends. I can't say two is possible, but I can try make one, depending on your preference. In return, make sure you know how to properly utilise all of W's combinations" he reluctantly agreed with some condition, which made the black swordsman grin. "Thank you, partner" thanked Kirito.

Then the bluenette looked at the Spider Shock watch he was wearing and his eyes widen in surprise. It was 10.55 am. "Oh, will you look at the time. Sara Lindsey Elisabeth Radio Time is going to start in 5 minutes! Sorry Ayumu!" Hiro apologised carefreely as he passed the files to his little sister before leaving the garage. "Ugh!" groaned Ayumu as her head drops in disappointment.

As for the other two, they were puzzled by Hiro's attitude, wondering what he meant. "Sara Lindsey Elisabeth? Who's that?" asked Kirito. Then Ayumu make a finger gesture that suggest the two to follow her as she makes her way out from the garage.

The two did as told, going out from the garage and into the office. While at it, they noticed Hiro was sitting near the old-fashioned radio that is in a small built-in space on the wall. It seems he was eagerly waiting for some radio program.

Back to where Ayumu was, she went to pick up a portfolio from one of the cupboards and lend it to Kirito. Then, the black swordsman opens it to look. To their surprise, the content in it was all about Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. To be specific, that portfolio was like a fan magazine of a celebrity, except it was made by Hiro himself for his own references.

Based on the book, Sara Lindsey Elisabeth is a woman that had a pair of emerald eyes, long straight maroon hair and pale skin. The said person usually wore various types of dresses with different hairstyles plus accessories that make her look charming to the eyes of guys, which indeed make her look like a celebrity.

"This person is quite beautiful…" Lisbeth commented. "Well, she's the DJ idol in this city. Everyone in this city knows her as a pure and refined woman, an ideal lady that every man dreamed for. Plus, she's still single so a lot of guys are crazy about dating and proposing her. The same goes with Onii-chan" Ayumu explained annoyingly. "Then, did you two ever met her in person?" asked Kirito.

"Not yet. I mean… it's impossible. She came from a wealthy family and surrounded by bodyguards all the time. Even the Breezing Wave Radio Station where she worked at also had strict security so it's almost impossible to enter without solid justification. She's a VIP there so not just anyone can't just waltz in to meet her" Ayumu told him. "It's like she's another Asuna, right Lis?" Kirito deduced, comparing the stated idol with his girlfriend, Asuna where the latter whom was a rich girl. "Well, I guess you can say that" Lisbeth agreed.

"Amanohara Tour of Mysteries! I'm gathering information about Amanohara's urban legends from you all. If we use your story, you'll get a signed Sara postcard as a present!" Sara began excitedly, her voice was heard coming from the radio. "The first one is from radio name AW-san. _'Sara-hime (Princess Sara), please listen to this. It exists, no doubt about it. The mythical casino, Million Colosseo!'_ " she read one of the postcards while on broadcast.

"Million Colosseo?" echoed Kirito and Hiro. " _'A friend to my brother's friend went straight from zero to major wins. I heard the next day he bought a high-class foreign car company. He went to the heavenly casino and won. It's the truth!'_. That's what the postcard says" Sara concluded. "So, this rumour surfaces again? I hear it often. Sara wants to visit the heavenly casino too" she said excitingly.

"How fascinating" Kirito muttered, having an interest regarding to the said place before looking to the rest. "What do you guys think?" he asked. "That's a blatant lie. Money addicted games destroyed people's life and relationship. Even if the reward sounds interesting, I doubt you can get away without any strings attached" Hiro explained, sceptical about the rumours.

Then Strea hologram appears on Kirito's shoulder. "Normally, gambling type games are difficult to win, especially roulette. If you're betting on possibility more than scientific logic, you lose" the beauty AI explained.

"By scientific logic, what do you mean, Strea-san?" asked Ayumu. "Well, you need to consider the rotational speed of the ball, its mass, the type of table which decides how much its frictional force applied towards the ball and the force applied by the spinner. It's complicated for humans to think and apply it so that's why most just like bet randomly" explained Strea. "But, I'm not smart enough to apply such thing while playing" admitted Lisbeth.

"Either way, it's pointless. Why bet all your current savings to some game to gain income instead of working hard to it on a more legal method? If you lose, all you have left will only be a mountain of debts and live in solitary while being hunted almost daily by creditors" Hiro protested with justifications.

"You sure quite pessimistic on this topic. Did anything happen to you before regarding casino?" asked Lisbeth. "Who knows…" snorted Hiro before turning away from the others, attempting to listen to the radio.

Then, they heard the doorbell rung, indicating a customer is paying a visit to the office. Being aware about that, Kirito went to shut off the radio by turning the dial to mute it, much to Hiro's dismay. However, the bluenette did not try arguing about it because he knew listening to radios while having customer is a violation of ethics. "Come in!" invited Kirito.

A pair of husband and wife opened the door and entered upon the invitation. "Welcome. How can I help you?" greeted Lisbeth cheerfully. "Um… is the famous detective Asaka-san here?" asked the husband. "Asaka is me!" Ayumu answered gleefully but Hiro knew they are referring to someone else. "Not you! They're referring to the boss" Hiro corrected her angrily, which made his little sister pouted. "Please! Please investigate our daughter!" the wife pleaded as she and her husband bowed towards Ayumu, much to Hiro's surprise. "Our daughter, our Kyouko… has went to Million Colosseo!" the husband told them. "What?!" Kirito and the others responded, having a surprised look on their face.

* * *

Later…

Kirito, Ayumu and Lisbeth went to a jewellery store, but they are not there for shopping. They are following a woman with yellow eyes, black hair in a topknot fashion and wore a white cardigan with brown inner, white skirt and black high heels. Instead of looking like a beauty, her appearance makes her looked more like a hooligan. This woman is Asami Kyouko, the daughter of Asami Tougo (father) and Asami Megumi (mother), the parents that came to the detective agency.

Of course, they did not go there empty handed, the Asami family, who runs a confectionary shop gave them some Manju, which the trio decided to eat while on pursuit.

(Kirito speaking)

 _Asami Yuko. This time request is to investigate her affairs. Her parents said their only daughter was involved with the mythical casino, but…_

While hiding behind a corner as the said suspect entered the jewellery shop, Kirito received a call from Hiro, who was doing lookup from inside the office with Strea. He was using another copy of Stag Phone, which Hiro had made for him to use. "I'm done with the lookup. Asami Confectionary is said to be the inventor of the famous Amanohara product, Wind Flower Manju" Hiro started. Inside the garage, he was writing the words related to his lookup on the whiteboards. Of course, Strea's hologram was on his shoulder, helping with the search. "That Asami Kyouko works as their poster girl and it seems that she is always helping out at their store" said Strea. "But lately the business isn't going well, and she seems to be slacking off more than usual"

"I see… So, her parents were worried because she turned into that" said Kirito as he ended the call and looked at the photo of Kyouko given by her parents. She had an earnest smile while wearing a white uniform and pink apron. Her hair seems longer and tied in a long tail instead.

The trio then observed the said suspect who seems to be waiting impatiently. Then the male staff who worked at the shopped rushed to Kyouko and bowed in regret. "Sorry! I deeply apologise, Kyouko-sama!" the male staff apologised, twice. "You think apologising will help?!" Kyouko berated as she slapped the male staff on his face. "You call this a first-class store? There is nothing I want to buy here! If this is all you have, then I'm taking my business elsewhere!" she protested like she was the boss.

Of course, the ruckus was quite loud that even Kirito and the others can hear it loud and clear. The black swordsman himself was greatly surprised but Ayumu and Lisbeth seems very irritated to see this delinquent act.

"Ugh! What's wrong with that girl?!" started Lisbeth. "Who does she think she is?!" growled Ayumu as she and Lisbeth were about to barge in to give Kyouko a piece of their mind. However, Kirito immediately stopped them, not wanting their cover gets blown and pulled them into hiding when he saw the suspect leaving through the door.

Kyouko seems quite irritated and stressed from not being able to get what she want from the store. "Ah! How vexing!" she grumbled but then had a grin when she remembers something. "Guess I'll go there again and let my head off with some winnings" the suspect mumbled as she takes her leave.

Kirito and the others heard this and then silently pursue her from a distance. Of course, there are a few times where Kyouko seems to notice their presences and turned behind but they managed to get into hiding at nearby corners or act like being busy doing something else and remained unspotted. On the third time that happened, they went into hiding as the suspect walked on the sideroad. "Still, I can't believe that Million Colosseo existed. Do you think it's real?" asked Ayumu in a low tone, which is inaudible to be heard by the suspect from her current distance. "One way to find out. She's our only lead there" said Lisbeth.

"Lis, Ayumu. You two head back first. I'll handle this" Kirito ordered and volunteered before leaving ahead of them. However, the girls seem shocked from this sudden order when they are having suspense on knowing at where, exactly will Kyouko arrived. "Why?!" the girls yelled at him, which made the black swordsman reluctantly turned towards them in dismay.

"You two are too noisy to be doing undercover work. Simply saying, you two are in the way so buzz off" Kirito explained bluntly and dismissed them before he went ahead to continue the pursuit. However, Lisbeth and Ayumu angrily grabbed him and strangled the black swordsman in a headlock. "You piss me off!" Ayumu berated.

"Will you stop underestimating me?! You really need a lesson! Don't you know that Kirito?!" followed Lisbeth. "I'm the chief here! You're in no position to order me around!" claimed Ayumu. Then the pink hair girl noticed that their suspect, Asami Kyouko was out of their sight. "Huh? She's gone" Ayumu told them and they released their headlock off Kirito. The black swordsman rushed ahead in disbelief that the suspect was nowhere in sight. "No!" he yelled. "It can't be!"

At the same time, a bus was honking and passing by them. Ayumu pulled off a green slipper from her bag, with the text 'What are you doing?!'. She then jumped and smacked Kirito on the head with it. "Hey! How are you better than us?! She got away easily!" Ayumu chastised him. "You better take responsibility for this Kirito!" Lisbeth demanded as she grabbed Kirito by the collar. _"You girls were the ones who distract me and you're pinning the blame on me?"_ sighed Kirito in dismay as he thought about what happened. Then Kirito got another phone call, which he picked up his phone and saw that it was from one of Hiro's usual informants, Rhythm. He smirked in triumph, believing there is still hope for them. "Now, now. It's not over yet. Hard-boiled detective never plunders. At least that's what Hiro said" Kirito told them before properly answered the call. "Hello?"

* * *

15 minutes later…

The trio went to a deserted looking bungalow, which had tape and papers pasted almost everywhere. The text written on those papers were 'For Auction', implying that house was currently on sale. At this house, a man was waiting for them by the gate. That person had purple eyes and hair. He wore a casual outfit, consisted of a light blue long-sleeved T-shirt, grey pants, a pair of purple sneakers. The man also wore a white cap and there is a black headphone hanging around his neck and it is connected to a small portable music player.

Judging from his appearance, this man looks like a break or street dancer. This man nickname is Rhythm, a music otaku and recently become a gourmet. Despite his normal and weird appearance, he was one of the informants who knew dark rumours about shady people in Amanohara City. "Hey! Over here!" Rhythm called out to them while waving his hand towards Kirito and the others as they approached him.

The informant seemed kind of elated and surprised at the same time, especially when he saw new faces. To be specific, he was more excited to see Lisbeth when Hiro had informed his informants there were new people helping with his detective businesses. "Hey, sorry to keep you waiting" Kirito greeted but the informant just shoved him aside to greet Lisbeth. Even the said girl was brought by surprise when the informant eagerly approached her. "Hello! Nice to meet you. I'm Rhythm" Rhythm introduced himself before he brings out his business card and give it to Lisbeth. "Of course, that's my nick name I used in my dancing party and net. Oh, how cute you are Lisbeth-chan. Hiro-kun told me all about you" the informant complimented while continuing his introduction.

"Thank you…" Lisbeth sheepishly thanked Rhythm. Though he seems overbearing, she can tell he is not a bad guy. "Oh, is it all right if I take a picture of you for my blog?" Rhythm asked, which Lisbeth does not mind and nodded. "Can I be in it too?" requested Ayumu. "Of course. You are cute too Ayumu-chan. Let's took one together" Rhythm approved and all three of them posed in a selfie as the informant brings out his smartphone and get his camera ready. However, Kirito seems irritated due to the said informant being carefree. "Hey, informant, take this seriously!" the black swordsman reprimanded and pushed the man from his posing when he was snapping a photo, forcing him to fall but managed to regain balance. The informant looked at the photo he captured on smartphone but only saw himself in there, because Kirito interrupted him. "What a fine man… Kirito-chan…" moaned Rhythm about what happened while pointing his finger towards the photo on the phone, but the black swordsman just gives a pat on the former's shoulder.

"Anyway, is it true? You said you found a man who returned from the so called heavenly casino" asked Kirito and the informant's expression changed upon hearing the word, 'heavenly'. "No… I wouldn't call it 'heavenly' if I were you" Rhythm said as he walked towards the mailbox and lift the 'For auction' sign, revealing the family name, Murakami. "What do you mean?" asked Lisbeth, who seem puzzled. "Why don't you go inside and ask that man himself? You'll understand what I meant. His name is Murakami Taro" Rhythm informed them.

After Rhythm took his leave, Kirito and the others entered the house and were dumbstruck, in more ways than one. First and foremost, the furniture and any items in the housed were labelled with paper 'Seized', indicating that none of them belonged to the owner anymore. Second, in one of the rooms, there were rubbishes from food packaging and a drunk man in glasses wearing brown suit was drinking beer in a glass. Third, he was babbling and laughing nonsensically about how good he was with gamble before he lost.

Lisbeth and Ayumu were totally freaked out from this and could not stand it. "I am sure to win next time at Million Colosseo!" Taro declared and laughed like a maniac. "Hey. Where? Where is this casino?" Kirito questioned. "Eh?" responded Taro before he laughed maniacally again. Kirito and the others interrogate him into answering what they want to know but to no avail. Murakami Taro has gone beyond mad to answer people properly. Seeing that further persuasion would be pointless until the man recovered from the drunk, the trio decided to go and wait outside while Kirito made a call to Hiro.

"The witness name is Murakami Taro" Kirito informed. "Just that isn't enough to find out the location. Don't you have any other keywords?" asked Hiro. "Well, his answers were all over the place. He lost the bet, was abandoned by his family and lost his home. On top of that, he was unemployed and couldn't get a job anywhere. He said penniless people are no different than criminals. Once you lost the bet or become a wanted criminal, society turns against your backs" explained Kirito. The last sentence made Hiro unintentionally dropped his phone and went in a standstill state. "Hiro? Hey, Hiro?" Kirito called out but there was no reply. Lisbeth and Ayumu noticed this and wondered what is going on.

At the same time, inside the room where Murakami Taro was, the man was babbling nonsense again before he turned his back in shocked because he could feel the presence of someone he feared.

His instinct was true as he saw a man with pointy hair, wearing a luxurious gold shirt inside a black suit plus golden watch on his right wrist, was sitting on the chair nearby Taro. This man is Kane Kakeru (literally Money Gamble), the owner of Million Colosseo and he had an eerie grin on his face. Taro seemed quite frightened from seeing him, mainly because the said owner arrived to collect his payment.

"Kane-san! Please wait! I swear I will get the money so…" Taro pleaded desperately but it does not seem to work. "I have waited for three days already" Kakeru started, getting up from the chair and approached Taro. "Murakami-san. You bet everything and enjoy the game" he continued before slapping softly on the witness face, forcing his glasses to fall. "And then… you lost!" the owner declared and broke Taro's glasses by stepping on it. Taro could do nothing but scream in fear.

Kakeru grinned eerily at this and took out his Gaia Memory, which is the Money Memory. **"Money"** He pressed the button and inserted the device on the back of his neck, which transformed him into a Dopant. His form is chubby and had a few black spots on his fully golden body. On top of that, he does not have a face, only a round head with some weird looking crown that has black spots as well.

The Money Dopant then took out a small silver coin, with a USB port. "Be a good sport and let me collect my payment…in full" Kakeru announced before poking the coin onto Taro's forehead, draining his life away. While this happens, the victim screamed as loud as he can, which was heard by Kirito and his friends and they rushed in to where the source came from.

When Taro stopped screaming and collapsed, Money's belly become even chubbier and the black spots now displayed numbers on it. By that time, Kirito and the rest saw what happened.

"Dopant!" gasped Ayumu. Kakeru was annoyed that there are witnesses about what he did. "What a pain!" he groaned before deciding to bail. "Lis, Ayumu. Take care of him!" Kirito ordered and went after the Dopant. "All right" the two girls agreed. Kirito chased Money as he left the house until they reached a parking area.

"Hiro! It's a Dopant!" Kirito informed as he puts on the Double Driver on his waist. Simultaneously, back in the garage, Hiro remained in a standstill even though the belt appeared on his waist. Kirito halted his step when he heard no response from his partner. "Hiro?! Hey, Hiro!" the black swordsman called out.

Then Kirito saw the Money Dopant, walking casually, thinking he had escaped. The black swordsman decides to chase the criminal and called out to his partner simultaneously. "You punk!" Kirito yelled as he jumped onto Money, trying to stop his movement. However, Kakeru easily pushed him away. "So, you're the man from earlier?" deduced Money. "Hiro!" Kirito called out as loud as he can, which his partner finally snapped into reality.

"What? Sorry. Let's go" Hiro apologised and declared, bringing out the Cyclone Memory. Likewise, Kirito took out the Joker Memory. **"Cyclone" "Joker"**

"Gaia Memory?" Money mumbled, surprise to see Kirito had a Gaia Memory. "Henshin!" "Henshin!" both yelled and inserted the memories before activating the transformation. **"Cyclone Joker"**

Kirito's body and Hiro's mind fused to become Kamen Rider W Cyclone Joker. "You're not getting away!" claimed Kirito as he chases after Money, who also ran away. However, Cyclone Joker managed to catch up, make the Dopant turned and land a few hits until the latter fell on the ground. Money tried to escape but the bicoloured Kamen Rider pinned him down by grabbing his leg. Annoyed, Money struggled to escape while Cyclone Joker tried his best not to let the Dopant get away. "Just who are you?!" questioned Kakeru. "I am Double!" Kirito declared and pushed Money away before the former gets up and stroke the W antenna. "The bicoloured handkerchief that wipe this city tears" he added with a two fingers sign, indicating the number.

"Heh! Boring!" snorted Money as he gets up. "My policy is to not deals with fools who have no money!" he proclaimed and retreated but not before sticking his butt and fingers in a ridiculing way. "Who're you calling a fool, chubby?!" barked Kirito, irritated from the mockery.

Cyclone Joker chased after Money and smacked him on the head. Afterwards, he gave the Dopant some more poundings at him. When there is a chance, Kirito use it to change the right side of W to Heat.

Money, upon seeing that the bicoloured Kamen Rider changed colour, become cowardly frightened and flee. Heat Joker leaped to send a flying flame punch, but an energy blast hit the Kamen Rider, interrupting and make him fall on the ground. The bicoloured Kamen Rider quickly get up to see the attacking source but the culprit, a Dopant had fled. He could not get a clear look of their enemy but knew that culprit had a cyan body with wings. "What?!" gasped Kirito. Then Heat Joker remembered that he was chasing Money but when he took a glance, that golden Dopant was no longer there. In other words, the owner of Million Colosseo had escaped.

Seeing that further action as Double was pointless, Kirito undo the transformation, with the Double Driver still equipped before glancing towards where the other Dopant that attacked him before. "What was that? A different Dopant?" he muttered.

"You lost our lead to Colosseo. You blundered, Kirito" Hiro pointed out. "You're one to talk. You took too long to respond when I called you out. Shouldn't you think what you are doing first and going to say before mocking others?" retorted Kirito. "How ironic. Our minds are connected so while I'm thinking, you already knew what I am going to say" Hiro countered.

Kirito believed that further discussion is meaningless so he unequipped the Double Driver and walked home. As for Hiro, he seemed to be pondering about something. _"I was on a standstill. Did that really happen?"_ the bluenette wondered.

Meanwhile, at the location where Kirito spotted the cyan Dopant. The accomplice was still there, and it was Nasca Dopant, who reverted to Hayate Junnosuke, who was wearing a black suit with white scarf that seems tainted by blood. The said charming man was looking at the content of the briefcase, which contains a variety of Gaia Memories. Judging from what he had, he was a Gaia Memory dealer. "Cyclone, Heat, Joker. I never heard of these memories before" Junnosuke mumbled, curious about the memories that the Kamen Rider used.

Then, Money appeared behind him. "Hey. Sorry. You really saved me back there. Looks like I owe you one" Kakeru expressed his gratitude to the seller. "It was nothing. Just some after-sale service. You bought an expensive memory after all. Please continue to enjoy yourself" Junnosuke told him.

* * *

That night, inside the Elisabeth Mansion…

Within one of the common room, Junnosuke was sitting on the couch while there is a woman from the Elisabeth family on the same room. She had sapphire eyes, maroon hair tied in a long tail, wearing grey shirt inside pink coat and skirt along with black shoes. This woman is Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth, the older sister of Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. She works as the CEO of Dial Corporation. Though, her career was to masquerade the business of Gaia Memories.

As of now, she was engaged with Junnosuke and had a few professional designers helping her designing her wedding dress along with the necessary accessories. "A Dopant with asymmetrical left and right sides?" repeated Hermione when she heard her groom mentioned about it. Junnosuke was referring to Kamen Rider W but was not aware of the name.

"Yeah… Just who is he?" Junnosuke muttered curiously while trying to ponder. "This is enough" said Hermione to the designers, who then nodded and take their leave. Afterwards, she went to sit beside her fiancé. "Junnosuke-san. The secrets of Gaia Memories are bottomless. There is no reason to rush and try to learn everything" Hermione advised, putting a finger on Junnosuke's lips. Afterwards she smiles and then move on to holding his chin. "But it's okay. You will surely become the man who rule over this city's darkness" she assured him.

Junnosuke seems pleased to hear this and put his left arm behind her neck. "Please instruct me well" he requested before pulling her closer. The two were about to kiss but it was interrupted when the door was opened, and Sara entered the room, unaware that they were there. This DJ idol had just return from work.

The two noticed this and saw her. Even the DJ idol noticed her sister and brother-in-law were about to smooch, but she knew she interrupted them. "Oh, am I interrupting" Sara asked sneeringly as the two just decide to halt their romantic moment and do something else. As for Junnosuke, he gets up from the couch and glanced to where his little sister-in-law was. "Oh, Sara-chan. I heard your radio show today. It was awesome" he flattered but Sara just gnashed in annoyance because the compliment does not feel sincere. "Such shameless flatterer" she grumbled before leaving through another door and slammed it. Though Junnosuke was surprised, his expression does not change one bit. "Wow, what a rebellious girl" he commented.

* * *

 **29th June 2060, Tuesday**

Kirito and the rest continue their observation on Asami Kyouko. The suspect was at her small house, which also was their shop. The trio noticed that the daughter was searching for something through the cupboards. Her parents seem frightened and desperately pleaded her daughter not to find it. Kirito and the others managed to deduce what she was looking. It was their family account book, which had their savings. Since Kyouko was searching for it, she was planning to withdraw all the money from it to bet them at Million Colosseo. Finally, she found it, much to her parents' fear. "Stop it, Kyouko!" Tougo pleaded. "That's our last savings!" Megumi worriedly told her as she and her husband get in the way, trying to prevent her getting away with the book.

"Move! You're in the way!" Kyouko barked, heartlessly pushing her parents away and passed by them. "Don't worry. I'll give you back a hundredfold" she promised them.

However, Lisbeth and Ayumu could no longer bear to watch this and entered the house, with Ayumu taking away the account book, much to Kyouko's surprise. Even Kirito could not stop them to get their cover blown.

"That's enough! Just how greedy can you be?!" Lisbeth berated. "Think about what your parents. They were worried about you!" followed Ayumu. "Who the hell are you two?!" Kyouko questioned rudely. "That doesn't matter! You're not going anywhere!" Ayumu declared. "You're looking for a fight?!" argued Kyouko.

Kirito then quickly stepped in and stopped them by pulling Lisbeth and Ayumu away. "What are you two thinking?! You're not supposed to get into contact with the person you're investigating!" Kirito whispered while scolding the two.

Though, it was loud enough for Kyouko to hear that and had an idea what they meant. "You guys are detectives?!" she guessed before glancing at her parents and angrily kicked the chair to pull off her tantrum. They were scared by this. "You had me followed?! Don't screw with me!" she yelled.

Kirito clear his throat to get Kyouko's attention. "Listen, miss. Million Colosseo is…" he tried to warn her, but the suspect knew what he was going to say. "A casino ran by monsters, right?" Kyouko guessed. "I'm already aware about it since the very beginning. I don't care who runs it. There's no more place more thrilling than that" she told them while recalling the moments where she had a great streak of victories at the casino.

"Money or Family. Which one is more important?" asked Lisbeth. "Obviously money! What fun there is to be in a family with no money?!" Kyouko spat, while looking at her parents with a disgusted look, with the impression they are useless before glancing towards Kirito and the others. Of course, Lisbeth and Ayumu think the one who is more disgusting and useless was Kyouko herself who was blinded by money that her attitude regresses to a delinquent. "That's wrong. I am going to stop you, definitely!" declared Ayumu as she held onto Kyouko's shoulder. However, the suspect just pushed her away. "You dim-witted detective talked big, but I bet you don't even know the directions!" Kyouko mocked as she stormed off the house empty handed.

Lisbeth and Ayumu became annoyed and were about to chase her but Kirito stopped them. "Wait. She has a point. That's what we're lacking. We don't know how to get there" Kirito told them. "So, the secret is in the direction?" asked Lisbeth. "Yeah. And I think I got an idea where we can get the clues" Kirito answered.

* * *

Later, at Breezing Wave Radio Station…

Kirito went inside alone to get some information from the staffs there while Ayumu and Lisbeth head back to the office since they cannot permit a lot of people to enter the station. Currently, he was asking one of them, who was holding several postcards related to Million Colosseo. Kirito asked the staff to read the name of districts or streets that was mentioned in the postcards as he writes them in a notebook.

"Let's see… Libra Square… Perseus District…" the staff read the names as Kirito wrote them in the notebook. While they were doing that, Officer Nobu entered and noticed Kirito. "Hey, Detective! What are you doing here?!" Nobu questioned angrily. Kirito noticed the officer and was surprised. "Nibui-san (Mr. Dull)! What about you, Nibui-san? Did you slack off duty to come here?" Kirito snorted with a sneer, which made the officer grabbed the former's arm angrily. "Not Nibui! My name is Nobu!" Nobu corrected the former.

The two were about to argue but they were stopped by Officer Kagami, who used his newly bought light blue back-scratcher to pull Nobu away. "That's enough! Oh, let's see…" said Kagami as he stopped the fight and snatched Kirito's notebook to see what he was writing. "Hey, Kagami-san!" Kirito called out to the said officer before giving hand gestures to the staff he was asking info to be on standby as he approached Nobu's superior.

"You're investigating name of places that appeared in the radio, but… I guess you're after the fabled Million Colosseo too, right?" guessed Kagami, which made Kirito puts on a facepalm. "Looks like the polices are as well" replied Kirito before he was dragged by Nobu's superior for a private conversation. "I know you're taking Hiro's place since you guys helped him out at the office. Just so you know, I'll overlook this so give me the report as usual. That's how we do it" Kagami told him whisperingly. "Yes, sir" replied Kirito awkwardly.

"Good morning" a familiar female voice greeted. "Morning" the staff Kirito asked for help replied. The detective and officers turned and saw Sara Lindsey Mars, wearing white blouse, pink hairband, a silver necklace with heart shape, black wristband with ribbon on her right hand, pink skirt, long black socks and grey shoes. "It is Sara-hime (Princess Sara)!" gasped Kagami, who seemed excited to see this woman. _"This is Sara-hime?_ _She's more beautiful than what I thought in person"_ thought Kirito, who seemed to be romantically attracted to the DJ idol and blushed a little from seeing how pretty she was.

Though, Kagami just pushed Kirito away as he went to approach Sara while doing the same to Nobu as well when he was talking to the DJ Idol. "Oh, Princess…" Kagami muttered while in lovesick state but then quickly get his act together and to behave like a gentleman. "I am Kagami Tetsuo, an inspector from Amanohara Police Department…" he tried to introduce himself, but Kirito interrupted him by pulling him away and Kagami crashed onto the wall while swooning in lovesick state. Sara was surprised from this but just kept quiet.

"Hey, Amanohara City Angel. If anything happens in this city, you can't rely on the police" Kirito began, with a cool persona and took out the Agency Business card (which was made within a week ago when they agreed to help with the detective business), with his name on it. To be specific, only Kirito. "Contact this man of iron. I'm the hard-boiled detective, Kirito" he told her by giving this on while holding her hand, with his other one patting his chest a few times with a convincing tone. Sara only giggled in response. "How interesting!" she replied.

Afterwards, when Kirito was done there, he was skipping with joy while holding a photo card of Sara, with her signature on it. "All right!" he cheered with triumph. Simultaneously, inside Sara's resting room, she annoyingly tears the business card, throw it into the dustbin and proceed to wash her hands from being touched by Kirito. "What a truly uninteresting fool!" she complained while doing all those actions.

* * *

Back at the Asaka Detective Agency, inside the garage…

Kirito gave that autographed photo card of Sara to Hiro, who seem astonished and delighted concurrently. The bluenette pinned the card onto the whiteboard near the table with a magnet pin before he takes a seat and stared at it very curiously. As for Kirito, he sat at the couch in between Lisbeth and Ayumu.

The girls seemed quite surprised and happy for the bluenette too because Hiro hardly ever met the DJ Idol. Hence, getting a signed photo of his idol is something that he was longing for. "Wow, I never would have guessed you can get that as a souvenir. You really are a chick-magnet, Kirito" said Lisbeth sneeringly while Kirito seems offended by that comment. "You don't have to say that…" grumbled Kirito. "But, Onii-chan seems happy. We even tried to make an appointment but could not get through" Ayumu pointed out. "All goes well" Kirito concluded before the girls continue looking at Hiro.

While they were busy looking at the bluenette, Kirito silently took something out from his cloth. It is another copy of the Sara's signed photo card and he had this fond look on his face. "Thank you… _my angel_ " Kirito muttered and was about to kiss the photo itself, but Hiro's little sister noticed this. Ayumu immediately snatched it from his hands just before his lips could kiss it. "You got one for yourself?!" sneered Ayumu. "Give it back!" Kirito barked, trying to retrieve the photo but Ayumu managed to prevent it. "No way!" refused Ayumu. "Give it!" ordered Kirito as he attempted again but failed.

Though Lisbeth then stood and get the photo from Ayumu. "She's only kind of cute" she commented, as in a disgusting way. "Why are you looking down on her?!" Kirito argued. "Don't tell me… You fell in love with this woman?" guessed Ayumu. Then, holograms of Yui and Strea suddenly appeared on Kirito's shoulder, with the former pouting at her human father. "Papa! No cheating!" Yui scolded. "I guess we'll have to report Mama about this" Strea suggested. "No… I didn't mean…" Kirito was about to countered before his partner interrupted. "Now! Starting lookup" Hiro declared as he went into the Planetary Bookshelves, which everyone else were silenced. "Oh…please do" they replied mutteringly.

In a spacious world, with an unlimited number of shelves with books, Hiro stood in there. This is the Planetary Bookshelves, the place where all knowledges of Earth are stored. Information about Dopants and Gaia Memories are there as well. Though, Hiro cannot read them all because it took time. Hence, keywords are required to eliminate the unnecessary ones to reach the truth.

"What we want to know is how people are getting to Million Colosseo?" Hiro started as he raises the question. "Yeah. The basic keywords are: Amanohara, Gamble and Colosseo. I am going to add a bunch of locations from the submissions" Kirito informed him with the keywords, which eliminates the unrelated information. "Go ahead" Hiro permitted. "First is Libra Square. Perseus District, Canis Major Drive, Ophiuchus Crossroad" Kirito informed the keywords that he got from the radio station, which each one greatly gets rids of the unnecessary books until the last keyword leave only one book in the Planetary Bookshelves.

"Bingo! I see. What a compelling result" Hiro commented as he picked the said book, which had the title 'Bus Route'. "So, what is it?" asked Ayumu. "The answer that come out was Route Bus. In other words, they were all going there by bus" Hiro answered as he gets out from the Planetary Bookshelves and started drawing a map on the whiteboards. "Come to think of it, when we lose track of Kyouko, wasn't there a bus passing by us?" asked Lisbeth. "There was!" Ayumu yelled.

"Pretending to be a normal bus, this dark bus takes customers to the Colosseo. Only the users know its route, stops and schedule" Hiro explained as he draws a line with a different marker pen for the route that was used by the dark bus. "This is the route that I have extrapolated. I don't know its destination, but it definitely is going through here around this time" the bluenette concluded before he circled on a corner, which has the line where the bus is passing through.

"That's amazing!" Lisbeth complimented. "You're in top form as always, Onii-chan" "I hope so…" Kirito commented untrustingly. "What are you trying to say?" Hiro questioned. "No… I am worried about your condition" Kirito said, giving a pat on the bluenette's shoulder before sitting on the chair. "Last time, you don't seem to be like yourself"

"Well, I got one thing to say. Let's get this over with. I'm not really into doing cases related with gambling. Oh, just so you know, even if I can be a pro in gambling in a short matter of time using the Bookshelves, I rather not, no matter what. I can be short-tempered when things don't go my way. Gambling type games requires full patience and strong mind. If one of those is lacking, you're all out. If you ask me to do that, count me out" Hiro warned them.

"What's wrong with you? Why are you so getting worked up over this?" Lisbeth questioned annoyingly. "Even you guys should have known when you see people playing them on TV. When one of them gets consecutive streak of victories, they were so full of themselves that they let their guard down on the grand game that has high rate rewards and ended up losing not just their money but also ruin their lives" Hiro argued. "Indeed, this kind of case is not uncommon" Yui concurred. "So, here's the point. Just get this over with" Hiro ordered as he sat on the couch, which was vacant when everyone was hearing his theory.

"Then, let's go, Kirito-kun, Lisbeth!" proclaimed Ayumu. "Okay!" Lisbeth agreed but the black swordsman suddenly chuckled a little, which surprises the girls before he stopped and looked at them with a serious expression.

"Don't be ridiculous" Kirito told them. "Eh?" muttered Ayumu in confusion. "Dopants are out of your leagues. You two are going to get in the way so be quiet and stay here" ordered Kirito as he left ahead. "That guy…he's the type that always looked down on people! Kirito's so arrogant! He thinks he so high and mighty that I'm just going to get in the way!" Lisbeth whined. "I'm so pissed!" Ayumu mentioned before she glanced towards her big brother, who was reading his blank book. "Onii-chan, we can go, right?" she asked.

"Kirito's right. You two should just stay here" Hiro answered without even looking at them. "You two are too hot-blooded over simple things that you can't do spying job properly. On top of that, Lis-san is the type that overestimate her own ability that she does not realised her own limits. Ayumu, you acted too much on impulse that you actually make the situation even worse than it supposed to be" he explained their bad traits, which made them even more infuriated.

Ayumu snatched his brother's blank book and smacked him with it, which made Hiro unconscious. "What do you understand, Baka Aniki?!" growled Ayumu. "But what are we going to do, Ayumu?" asked Lisbeth. Hiro's little sister glanced around and then noticed the Bat Shot with its Pseudo Memory on the table. Hiro had just done the maintenance on it. Ayumu then grinned in triumph, getting an idea what they can do. "I think I got an idea" she said.

* * *

At the streets in the city, Kirito was on standby with Hard-Boilder nearby the area marked by Hiro, with some distance away. He noticed several people, including Asami Kyouko were waiting for something. The black swordsman deduced that the dark bus will appear on times other than the scheduled times hence he confirmed with Yui and Strea about it. Then, he heard a loud honk, which came from a bus that came to the stop.

That bus did not arrive according to schedule, meaning this public transport was going to another place instead. Kirito can see that the waiting passengers, including Asami Kyouko rode on it. Though, he did not notice there were two females (Lisbeth and Ayumu) in disguise get on board as well.

"Unscheduled bus stop. That's it" muttered Kirito as he gets Hard-Boilder in gear and silently followed the bus from behind. Kirito continued followed it for a few minutes until he passed a T junction and turn left. Though, the bus driver soon noticed that he was being followed by Kirito. He started driving recklessly by speeding up and hitting the nearby cars, causing panics to other drivers who had to make emergency steer and ended up colliding against the sideroads and so on.

Kirito in return tried his best to manoeuvre the bike as to avoid crashing against the stopped vehicles to doing a leap when he cannot dodge. The black swordsman speeds up and managed to catch up with the bus. However, the driver cowardly narrowed the path by moving closer towards Kirito, causing him to end up colliding with the side fence and fell off the bike.

Fortunately, Kirito managed to grab onto the bus as soon as he was forced to get off his own ride. He got a grip on the bars of its roof, slowly stabilising himself. Then he looked through the window and became dumbstruck, with his mouth gaping. Reason, Ayumu and Lisbeth are on board, sitting just next to the window where Kirito was looking at. The girls noticed and waved at him. "Lis, Ayumu! You guys!" Kirito shouted. "Why are you in there?!"

The girls then just respond by sticking out their tongue and pushing down the skin below their eyes, mocking Kirito. "Why, you!" growled Kirito as he raised a fist with his free hand. Then he heard a familiar voice chuckling and approaching. It was Money Dopant. "Looks like we have an uninvited guest" he mentioned.

"Punk" grumbled Kirito as he took out the Spider Pseudo Memory and slot it into the Spider Shock watch that he wore on the left hand. The Spider Memory Gadget turn into its live form, blast off and hit Money on the face a few times, distracting him. While the Dopant was preoccupied, Kirito use this chance to climb onto the roof. When he does, he removed his helmet and tossed it away. Afterwards, he brings out the Double Driver and equipped it onto his waist. "Hiro!" Kirito called out.

Back at the garage, Hiro had regained consciousness and was reading the blank book. The Double Driver then appeared on his waist as well, which the bluenette noticed and immediately stopped whatever he was doing. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" the two of them yelled and Hiro inserted his memory first. Afterwards, it transferred to Kirito's belt and he pushes it in before putting his own and spread the Driver into a W Shape. **"Cyclone Joker"** Kirito's body transformed into Kamen Rider while Hiro's body collapsed onto the floor because the latter's consciousness was transported to Kirito.

"Million Colosseo will shut down for good. Starting today!" declared Kirito. "What was that?!" Money growled, annoyed to hear this and started charging towards Cyclone Joker. The bicoloured Kamen Rider started to do the same and they engage in a brawl. Money landed a punch, but Cyclone Joker managed to avoid and counter with a kick, making the Dopant fell.

Money had trouble getting up because he himself was chubby plus the bus was still moving as they fight. This makes Cyclone Joker hold the advantage as he continued to beat the golden Dopant, making him roll while at it. Afterwards, the bicoloured Kamen Rider tried to grab Money, but the latter resisted and pushed his opponent. Cyclone Joker ended up falling off the ride and the same goes for the golden Dopant, who was unable to balance himself from the struggle and ended up falling too.

Then they continued the fight. To repay the mocking that Money did yesterday for calling Kirito a fool, Cyclone Joker leaped and stomped on his back before fleeing. The golden Dopant then launches a blast of coins from his belly that hit the bicoloured Kamen Rider, knocking him. Cyclone Joker rolls over when got hit and quickly turned towards his opponent but not before bringing out Metal Memory in the process.

"For that kind of attack, what about this?" questioned Kirito but he quickly rolls over to the side when Money launches another blast of coins. When he managed to stand, the golden Dopant launches that attack again, from his hands but Cyclone Joker took the attack and did not budge a bit. **"Metal"** the bicoloured Kamen Rider pressed the memory, swapped it with Joker and do a Memory change, modifying the left side colour to grey. **"Cyclone Metal"**

Money just launches another blast of coin attacks when Double did form change. Luckily, the process is very brief that Cyclone Metal managed to draw the Metal Shaft and deflect the attacks. Once again, the golden Dopant was surprised, mainly because it is unusual for one person to use more than one Gaia Memories. It makes him question why and how many Double had in possessions.

"Just how many memories do you have?!" questioned Money, which made Kirito puzzled for a while. "Eh? I got one, two…" Kirito started answering and counting but he was interrupted when his partner started moving the body in his stead. "Ah! Who cares!" barked Hiro (with Double's right eye blinking when he speaks), starting to take control of Kirito's body and brutally attack the golden Dopant with the Metal Shaft.

Money was shocked as to what happened as he continued to receive hits. "Hey! Why are you so worked up for?!" he questioned angrily. "It's not me!" Kirito shouted. "Because of you, a lot of people suffered and become bankrupt! You're the worst criminal!" Hiro berated as he continued pounding the golden Dopant. "You're the worst!"

"Partner! Calm down!" yelled Kirito, trying to regain control of Double. "Shut up! I won't be satisfied until I teach this guy a lesson! These criminals never play fair in whatever they do! Gambling is no different! They use their excessive authorities to take away people's freedom and lives!" Hiro resisted and continue beating Money until he fell onto the ground, becoming helpless. "It's over…" the right-side of Double declared while pointing the staff at the golden Dopant.

"It may surprise you to learn that you can't beat me" said Money as he shoved the Double's weapon and stood. Afterwards, the spots where the money values were glowed and opens. Inside them were lots of silver coins with USB ports, identical to the ones he used on Murakami Taro from yesterday. "In my belly, there's a lot of coins. If you defeat me, these will all crumble. You see what I'm getting at?" he explained while bringing out one of the coins and showed it to Double. The name displayed on the coin was Murakami Taro.

"Murakami Taro… It can't be…" trailed Kirito, having an idea what those coins hold. "These life coins contain the customers' life energy" Money began as he walked over while explaining. "At Million Colosseo, when you're run out of money, you play by gambling with your life!" he said before laughing a little. "They want to play if it means giving up everything. Work… their homes… even their families too!"

"You rotten…! How deplorable!" snarled Hiro. "So that's your goal? To enjoy gambling while laughing at the losers and take their lives?" Kirito calmly deduced. "You're a sharp one. That's right. It's like you said. Once people decided to involve themselves in gambling, their future will be a lonely life full of debts and miseries. I enjoy making people suffer and succumb to it" Money admitted openly.

"Shut up! You just nothing more than a selfish, wicked criminal!" barked Hiro. "Don't be stupid. Even if it wasn't me, it can be anyone sooner or later. At the very least, I'm not like that disreputable criminal, 'Inescapable Fang' who didn't even spare anyone even though they beg for mercy when this world broke into war within this decade" Money argued. "Inescapable…Fang?" muttered Kirito.

"You didn't know? In these past five years, there's been a world war instigated by World Reformer, the infamous terrorist organisation. They abused the children's hobby toys as tools for wars. Among the ranks, there was this ruthless General with the codename, Inescapable Fang. He was the embodiment of merciless, sparing not even women or children when people beg for mercy. He does not hold back even on his own subordinates and proceeds to eliminate them with his own hands when they failed" explained Money. "What?!" gasped Kirito.

As for Hiro, his mind suddenly goes on a standstill as he remembered something that happened in the past. He sees a ruined capital, with smokes raising to the air. Citizens are running with fear, screaming for their lives. There is an army of terrorists, armed with guns and weapons attacking, destroying the city. On one point, there are a group of people on the ground, cowering in fear and unable to move. Most of them were mothers and their children, with a few of the children were infants, hold by their respective mothers. They all begged to be spared. However, just before they knew it, it all went blackout while screams of pains was heard afterwards. Then, one man with chest being bared, wearing black hooded jacket and pants stood in the sea of flames with a little machine robot. When zoomed in towards the face, that man was none other than Oozora Hiro himself, with his eyes glowing in bright red. That was all the visions he saw. While this happens, Hiro's unconscious body in the garage started to shed tears from his closed eyes.

"AAAHHH!" Hiro started screaming and the right eye of Double started to go haywire, which Kirito could feel something was wrong and his body reacted to it. "Hiro?! Hey, Hiro! What is it?!" asked Kirito worriedly as he tried to get things under control. Money, seeing that his opponent was distracted began attacking the bicoloured Kamen Rider by punching and kicking a few times before knocking him a distance away. Afterwards, he relentlessly launches a blast of coin attacks at Cyclone Metal, creating an explosion. When the explosion subsided, the bicoloured Kamen Rider was no more, presumably dead. "I pay back for the beating you gave me… in full!" Money proclaimed before leaving.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the bus where Kyouko and the customers on board at entered a tunnel and suddenly stopped midway. Lisbeth and Ayumu noticed this as well, wondering if they have reached their destination.

They saw all the customers began leaving the bus and decided to follow suit. There, they saw a hidden door with 'KEEP OUT' sign was opened. A male attendant wearing mask was waiting by the door and he provided the entering people with masks. Likewise, Lisbeth and Ayumu decides to enter the place, receiving masks as well.

When they reached deeper, they saw a large casino, with all kinds of gambling games being held and crowded with people. Of course, they did saw the signs placed there, written 'Million Colosseo'. "This is…" Lisbeth trailed. "Million Colosseo" Ayumu ended. The two girls then started exploring around.

* * *

Back to where Cyclone Metal was, the transformation forcibly undone. "Papa! Are you okay?" Yui asked worriedly. "Yeah, somehow…" "Just what happened?" asked Strea. Kirito was silent for a while. Then he recalled what happened. He also saw the vision that flashed into Hiro. The war, merciless slaughtering and most of all, Hiro was dressed like a terrorist, with red eyes. "Yui, Strea. I need you to investigate something for me" Kirito requested a favour. Back at the garage, Hiro woke up in shock. He started roaming around back and forth in fear and panic. Out of instinct, he went to the table and just shoved some of the items there while screaming before breathing heavily.

* * *

At Million Colosseo…

The customers are enjoying the gambling games. Lisbeth and Ayumu continued looking around and finally they saw a familiar face even though that person was wearing a mask. They were referring to Asami Kyouko, who was about to playing one of the games. The girls approached that woman and dragged her away to a less disturbing corner, much to the latter's annoyance. Kyouko take a closer look and recognised their faces. "You guys! Those greenhorn detectives" she said.

The two girls were offended but they managed to control themselves. "Hurry and go home!" Ayumu begged. "This isn't heaven!" Lisbeth pointed out. "Like I leave now?!" Kyouko snorted, moving away from them. "I've been waiting for today's big game"

"Everyone, welcome…" a familiar male voice announced, which got the attention of everyone. All of them saw the casino owner, Kane Kakeru at the stairs and it was his voice. "To the heavenly casino, Million Colosseo. Another member has obtained the right to challenge me" The people nearby began gathering around the owner as he continued the announcement. "The courageous challenger's name is… Asami Kyouko!"

As soon as Kakeru said the name, all the lights, to be specific, spotlights focused on the mentioned person, who smirked in triumph as she removed her mask. Lisbeth and Ayumu were astounded as they backed off a little while the crowd cheers.

* * *

At Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro was in a trance as he sat by the table that is near the bed. In his mind, all he can see was nothing more than a sea of flames, with transitioning images of wars, people screaming for their lives, brutal slaughtering and others. "No… No…!" he started muttering before yelling. "I… I…"

"I wasn't myself, right?" said a familiar male voice. Hiro was brought back to reality and turned. The bluenette saw that it was Kirito, sitting by the tall and small round table. "Yui and Strea investigated it. The global war in the past five years, caused by the infamous terrorist organisation, World Reformer. You were a part of it, aren't you? As the **Inescapable Fang**?" asked Kirito.

"You sure done your research, with help from your AI daughters. It's all like you said. So, what are you trying to imply?" he questioned. "No…nothing really. I have no idea that happened to you" Kirito admitted. "Don't lie! I bet you're laughing at me, right?! A wanted criminal acting like the detective of justice?! I bet that's what you're thinking. Isn't it?!" barked Hiro.

"It's not that. Remember what you said to me when we began training? There's no human that is perfect, supporting each other is a game called life. I guess everyone had their own bad times in the past and need each other" Kirito explained. "I do know someone with similar past, Nochizawa Eiji. He was close friends with Shigemura Yuna, but she died in SAO. Even though he managed to get out alive, the aftermath was that he lived in a misery life when his parents divorced and refused to take custody of him. He couldn't continue his study and became a shut-in. But, he was so obsessed on reviving Yuna that he ended up hurting people and cheated to reign supreme. So…"

"'I think I can understand his suffering', is that what you want to say?" guessed Hiro but his tone was starting to sound more furious. "Don't be stupid! What do you think you know and understand?! I…" The bluenette suddenly paused, realising that if he continued, things would have gone worst. "No… That's enough. I'm going to rest my head a bit" Hiro said, getting himself to the bed and laid on it. Kirito also silence himself and head to take a seat by the main work table.

All went silent for a few minutes until it was broken by the ringing of Kirito's phone. The black swordsman just picked it up the call. "Hello. This is Kirito" he greeted but a familiar female voice interrupted. "Hello. This is the Chief! Headquarters, please respond"

"Ayumu?! Where are you right now?!" asked Kirito worriedly, recognising the voice as Ayumu. As the call was ongoing, the girls were at a secluded corner, seem worried as well. "We've infiltrated Million Colosseo" reported Ayumu. "But I don't like this place. I got a bad feeling about it" Lisbeth stated. "What?" replied Kirito in confusion. "We're going to relay the footage so look" said Ayumu as she inserted the Pseudo Memory for Bat Shot, which the gadget was held by Lisbeth. The blue bat flew and hang itself over a lamp. Even though the moving gadget makes some noises, the crowd did not hear it because they were too focused on watching the match between Kyouko and Kakeru (House).

Kirito sighed when he heard this. "Why are these girls so skilled when it comes to this kind of job?" he mumbled, disconnect the call and put the Stag Phone on the table before the screen was changed to the view from Bat Shot's camera.

The footage was showing the roulette match between Kyouko and House. "Black 22! Come on! Come on!" the female player yelled, hoping for the ball to enter the hole with her desired number. However, the ball fell into the hole: Red 7, meaning she had lost that current match. Her traded coins were dragged away to the rightful winner. The crowd were all groaning when they witness this, and it was not their first time due to their tone being rather flat instead of pure shock. In other words, Kyouko had lost all her bets from the very beginning of the match.

Of course, the player herself could not believe this either. She was so lucky in the other casino games she played but, on this match, she did not even win once at all. "No way… but I had two hundred million!" Kyouko moaned while holding her head and back off a few steps, could not believe that she lost.

"Would you like to use the remainder of your life as collateral?" offered Kakeru as he approached his opponent. "The final stage's rate is multiplied by 100" he said, taking out the Life Coin that was used to suck a person's life energy. "If you win, you'll get it all back in one fell swoop"

The said offer is decent but to be specific, too good to be true. A sane person would not dare taking this challenge because losing cost his/her own life but for Kyouko, whose mind was unstable after she lost all her savings, impulsively agreed to it. She was desperate to get back her money. "I…I'll do it!" she said, taking the coin from Kakeru. Hence, the match starts once more.

"Red 14! Come on! Come on! Come on!" Kyouko shouted and slamming the table a few times as she watched the rolling ball on the roulette. She hoped that the ball will fall into the hole with the respective number and colour.

When Kirito was watching the footage, he also heard what is going on, especially when the player was yelling as loud as she can. He could not hear very well what Kakeru said but the black swordsman did hear about the high rate and guarantee to regain all the lost amounts. Though he decided to continue observing. "Will she really win them back?" he muttered.

"She won't. The ball's destination is Black 8" Hiro predicted. The black swordsman was surprised when he saw Hiro was just right behind him, observing the match as well. "Eh?" muttered Kirito before he continued to observe the footage. It turns out as Hiro had deduced, the ball fell exactly on hole: Black 8. Kyouko fell onto her legs in despair, could not believe that she still loses even though the rate was high. Though the said rate was opposite of what being told. Kakeru smirked at this as he takes out the Money Memory. "You're finished"

 **"Money"** the owner activated the Gaia Memory and inserted it on the back of his neck, transforming him into Money Dopant. The crowds were scared, especially this moment had happened before with other challengers that takes on the big game and loses. Kyouko was fright as chicken, slowly backing off but unable to stand. "Wait! Next time… I'll be lucky next time!" she pleaded as Money takes the life coin on the table that she uses as collateral. However, Kakeru had no intention of doing so and Kyouko shook her head frighteningly, begging to be spared.

"All loser dogs say that. If I recall, your parents' restaurant was about to go bankrupt, isn't it? At first you did this for your parents but somewhere along the way you've been blinded by money" Kakeru started. As for Kyouko, while stuttering, she remembers the times she was helping her family at their restaurant. "Heh. This story is all too common" the owner snorted. "I'll take my payment… in full" Money then poke the USB part of the coin onto Kyouko's chest, sucking her life energy into it. While this happens, the girl had finally realised her own errors but regrettably it was too late for her to fix things right. "Dad… Mom…" Kyouko moaned before she collapsed onto the floor while the life coin printed the name 'Asami Kyouko' upon finished sucking her life energy.

Everyone else was silenced in shock from seeing this, including Hiro and Kirito. However, as for Lisbeth and Ayumu, who were at the scene, became enraged instead. Ayumu brings out her dope slapper. This time it is not one but two. She gave the other one to Lisbeth. The text printed on the slipper held by Ayumu and Lisbeth are 'What're you doing?!' and 'You're going to pay!' respectively. The two glanced to each other, gave a nod and then barged in, hitting Money when he was laughing in achievement. "Stop screwing around, you loud octopus!" Ayumu and Lisbeth shouted in unison.

The crowd were greatly surprised from this sudden ruckus. Kirito had his mouth wide open in surprise and speechless. As for Hiro, he only sighed, putting a palm on his face, mainly because he was aware that Ayumu always would do something like that when she lost her temper. It happens many times when he was with her. The girls then took off their mask and the golden Dopant realised that he never seen their faces in his casino. "Who are you?" Money questioned.

"We're the Beauty Detectives of this city!" declared Lisbeth. "And I'm the Chief of the detectives!" Ayumu proclaimed, pointing her slipper at the Dopant. Money pretended to be surprised but then sniggered and pushed away the slipper. "In any case, I can't let you guys get off the hook" Kakeru announced, approaching and attempting to do something bad at them.

The girls back off and scared because they knew they are not capable of combating against Dopants. "If anything happens to us, our allies won't let you get away with this!" Ayumu warned. "One of them maybe incompetent stereotype…" "but the other one is a genius gamer! He'll beat you to a pulp in your own game!" Lisbeth declared, referring to Kirito.

Of course, the two boys heard this when they are watching. "That immature sister… she said I'm incompetent stereotype?!" Hiro growled. However, Kirito then decided to make a call to Ayumu's phone.

"What did you say? Where is that guy?" Money questioned threateningly was as he grabbed onto the girls' neck. Just in nick of time, Kirito's phone call reached Ayumu and the girl answered the call before putting it in loudspeaker mode near Money to hear. "This is the Genius Gamer. I'll join you in a game soon. So, wait" Kirito ordered. "What?!" grumbled Money. "I'm saying you got a customer" Kirito rephrased. "Hey! What are you planning? You can't beat him!" Hiro warned his partner worriedly. "How would I know unless I try? I'm not going to run away just because he's a pro at gambling. As far as I know, I never lost when it comes to games, no matter what it is" Kirito argued.

"Your method of provocation is amusing" snorted Money. "No one ever spoke to me like that before. But what's in it for me?" he questioned. "Six Gaia Memories. How does that sound? If I win, return all the life coins you have obtained" offered Kirito. Upon hearing this, Hiro was very shocked. There are a few reasons for it. First and foremost, Gaia Memories were all sold at high prices, meaning it is not easy for people to afford more than one. Second, Kirito was referring to W's Gaia Memories: Cyclone, Heat, Luna, Joker, Metal and Trigger when he mentioned six. Third, relating to the second reason, if they lose the bet, they cannot become Kamen Rider anymore.

As for Kakeru's side, he believed that is a fair trade. "Very well. I'll have you fetched. So, wait" agreed Money as he emptied his belly and have all the life coins in his body out before reverting to Kakeru. "Ladies and gentlemen. We're closed for the day" he announced, which causes unpleasant responds from the customers. Kakeru then turned to where Ayumu and Lisbeth were. "Let's see how good this Genius Gamer is"

After managing to make a deal, Kirito ended the call. Then, he glanced towards Hiro, who look very upset. Before the black swordsman even know it, the bluenette punched him hard in the face, causing the former to fall on the floor.

"What're you doing?!" growled Kirito, as he turned towards his partner. "'What're you doing?' That's my line! What're you thinking, putting our Gaia Memories as the bet?! Do you realised what you've done?! What would you do if you failed?!" Hiro reprimanded. "We'll deal with that when that happens" Kirito said, referring that both him and Hiro will do something about it. "Whoa…we? Sorry but there's no _'We'_. This time you're on your own. I warned you. I'm not going to participate in any sort of gambling. You can go out there and die for all I care but leave me out of this" Hiro amended and warned him. The bluenette then took out his Gaia Memories and slammed them on the table. Afterwards, he just stormed off from the office but not before taking a brown fedora with him.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Elisabeth mansion…

Hermione, wearing a wedding dress and sitting on the sofa was looking into the mirror, amazed to see how pretty she was. "Hermione-sama is so beautiful" one of her beauticians commented. Afterwards, the bride stood up and take her leave, heading to the church arranged for the marriage.

Simultaneously, her groom, Hayate Junnosuke, wearing a suit of the similar colour was at the yard, getting ready to leave. Though, he noticed a middle-age man with green eyes, blonde hair and round glasses, wearing black suit was waiting for him. This man is none other than his own father-in-law, Shane Gerald Elisabeth. "Father" Junnosuke called out and the said man turned while slowly approaching his son-in-law.

"Junnosuke-kun. Before the ceremony... mind if I give you a punch?" asked Shane. Junnosuke chuckled at this as he approaches his father-in-law.  
"Just like a drama, isn't it? Is it because your daughter is being stolen away by your underling like me?" he guessed.

Shane just grin and gave a pat on Junnosuke's shoulder. However, his friendly expression suddenly changed to serious and hostile as he takes out a golden Gaia Memory. **"Terror"** To be specific, it was the Terror Memory. Junnosuke was shocked from this as well and speechless, glancing towards the said Memory before to his father-in-law.

"Members of the Elisabeth family are the centrepieces of Geo" Shane started and Junnosuke slowly backed off in fear. "We are this city's… no…are the humanity's rulers. I will allow the ceremony depending on whether you have mastered the Nasca Memory's powers"

Junnosuke was prepared to fight as he backs off another step. "Father" a conversant female voice called out. The gentlemen glanced towards the caller and saw that Sara, wearing a pink gown and had her hair tied in puffball pigtails was at the balcony. "Let me do it in your place" she volunteered, bringing out the Clay Doll Memory. **"Clay Doll"**

Sara then throws the Memory into the air, then puts on the Memory Driver on her back, which extends into a belt and jumped off the balcony. While falling, her golden Gaia Memory that she threw insert itself into the slot, transforming her into Clay Doll Dopant and she managed to land safely. "I just love humbling pretentious men" Sara giggled with an unpleasant tone, which her father replied with a grin. "Very well. Go ahead" Shane approved before he walks to take cover behind one of the pillars.

Afterwards, Clay Doll turned towards Junnosuke and started blasting gravitational energy shots. Her brother-in-law began evading them, gracefully like a dancer. This act makes Sara feels so irritating. "Are you showing off? If I hit you, you'll be a goner" warned Clay Doll. "It's not fake. This composure is real" Junnosuke taunted. "Sara-chan~"

Hearing that man called herself so familiarly makes Sara becomes enraged, her eyes glowed in dark green. She charged up her right round fist, strong enough to shatter anything and then rushed towards Junnosuke. **"Nasca"** The brother-in-law quickly took out his Gaia Memory and driver, putting them on himself and transformed just in the nick of time before Clay Doll's fist hit him at the stomach. However, he did not budge one inch from it. Though, the test is concluded when the two heard Shane giving an applause by clapping his hands a few times. "Looks like I'll have to admit you pass" the father announced as he approached the two that had undone their transformation. Sara did not seem happy and walk away why Junnosuke bowed in honour as Shane chuckled.

Later, in the church…

A wedding ceremony is about to commence. The invited guests had taken their seats while Junnosuke and Hermione gets up the stage, where the marriage bureau is waiting for them. They exchanged rings, afterwards made a vow to be at each other's side in sick or in health and so on. When they accept the vow, the bureau permits the groom to kiss the bride. Junnosuke then proceeds to press his lips onto Hermione. Normally, this is how people do it but for the Elisabeth family, they required to transform into their Dopant forms to seal the deal. Hence, Junnosuke and Hermione kiss each other in Nasca and Taboo form respectively. Of course, people who were not aware about them being Dopants would freak out but since the invited guests were in cohort with Gaia Memories research, they feel it is normal and applause them. Afterwards, when everything was done. The newlyweds and their family, including a grey furry cat called Riki, which is the family's pet stood outside the church together for a photo session. The one holding Riki was none other than Shane, who stood beside Hermione while Sara stand next to her her brother-in-law, Junnosuke. "All right, I'm taking the photo now" the photographer announced. "Say Cheese!" he proclaimed before snapping a family photo. Though, unbeknownst to public, all the people in these photos are Dopants and these people even took one in their Dopant forms too.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiro was at the pier, taking a fresh air while sitting on a bench, facing the river. To be specific, he was trying to take his mind off about what happened. _"That Kirito… How could he be taking this situation lightly? It is true that we need to save the lives of the customers in those coins. But to be betting our Gaia Memories for it, that's too absurd. The enemy's source hadn't been pinpointed and taken down yet. What should I do? What would Boss do and say in times like this?"_ the bluenette wondered before he lied his head down, feeling indecisive while covering his face with the fedora.

"What's wrong, Hiro-kun?" a familiar male voice called out to the bluenette. Hiro gets up and find the caller, noticing that it is a man wore black suit and a top hat, which made him look like a magician. He had green eyes and black hair.

Everyone dubbed this man as Uncle Magic because he always goes around in town, wearing like that daily. However, only selected people like Hiro knew that Magic was occasionally an informant during some cases.

Even if this informant usually does not provide direct information, Magic always give an item that is hinted towards the culprits or useful items that are surprisingly helpful in Hiro's line of work. Most of the time, he can be seen around town helping children who seems sad and cheered them up with his magic tricks.

"Uncle Magic…" muttered Hiro. "What's wrong? It's not like you to look this gloomy" Uncle Magic asked with concerns. "It's about my new recruits. One of them is the type that blindly plunged into danger without considering the pros and cons. It's quite troublesome" Hiro explained.

"I see… but back when Fuuto-chan was in charge, weren't you the one who acted like that? You even done something crazy that no normal people would dare doing" Uncle Magic pointed out. "Well, that's true… but…" Hiro reluctantly admitted and was about to argue but the magician cut in.

"Listen, Hiro-kun. A detective doesn't work alone. One cannot find the truth without reliable information. That is why we informants are there to help. To gather information that you detectives need to solve the case. If a newbie messed up, wouldn't covering and support them are your job as the instructor? That's what Fuuto-kun had always done whenever you get things wrong" Uncle Magic advised.

The bluenette was silenced by this. Indeed, Kirito was in fact a newbie in what Hiro had done recently, especially when it comes to deal with Dopant criminals. Hence, it is his job to correct whatever trouble the black swordsman, whom he recognised as the wild card. "All right, look at this, Hiro-kun" said Uncle Magic, which got the bluenette's attention. The magician was about to do a magic trick, chanting some magic words towards his hat. "Voila!" Uncle Magic pulled out a small box of poker cards from the hat and gave it to Hiro. "Here, a present"

"Thank you" Hiro thanked as he received the poker cards. "Then, see you later" Uncle Magic said before he leaves. "As usual, Uncle Magic never gets bored with this. I just wish he could give me a girlfriend instead" moaned Hiro. Then he heard the honking sound of a bus. The bluenette noticed that the bus was on the bridge nearby the pier. He also noticed Kirito getting onboard. The bluenette then make a run for it, somehow managing to get onboard as well.

The black swordsman was surprised to see him boarding the bus as well. "Partner! You…" muttered Kirito. "Don't get the wrong idea. I only wanted to watch" Hiro proclaimed as he takes a seat a few rows behind Kirito.

The black swordsman remains silent and let the bus started departing. The trip took 15 minutes and they arrived at the middle of the tunnel where the entrance to the casino was as the bus halted. Kirito leave first, followed by Hiro, who noticed that the door with 'KEEP OUT' sign was opened, with an attendant waiting for them. The attendant guided the two until they reached the main venue where Million Colosseo was.

"Kirito!" "Onii-chan!" Lisbeth and Ayumu called out, which got the attention of the two boys before approaching the girls. "Sorry for the wait" Kirito told them. "So, which one of you boasted that you beat me to a pulp?" a male voice questioned, which belonged to none other than Kane Kakeru, who was sitting by one of the tables. "Of course, it's me. I came here to challenge you" declared Kirito as he stepped forward. "So, it's you after all. Fine. Let's not waste any more time and get right to it" said Kakeru.

The two of them then went to a roulette table. It is the same one that Kakeru used to play against Kyouko. The match is between Kirito VS Kakeru, with both having their traded prizes on the table. The owner of casino had six equal piles of life coins, with the customers' lives in them while the black swordsman had the six Gaia Memories that W used. While they were getting ready, Hiro went to inspect Kyouko's body, that is indeed nothing more than a lifeless vessel.

"It's reserved just for us today. And this is what I'm betting. One pile of these life coins for one of your Gaia Memories. The match is to win your six or mine" informed Kakeru regarding the condition for victory. "Understood" agreed Kirito. Then the owner gave a gesture to his worker, ordering him to instigate the game. The worker then started spinning the roulette, which made the ball in there to move, where from this point onwards, the players had to make a bet which hole with what number will the ball fall in within a certain time interval.

Kirito then started observing the ball. Instead of blind guess, he was using his eye to predict the velocity of the ball. In addition, before starting the game, he had help from Yui and Strea for tips in trying to increase his chance of accuracy. "Red 7" Kirito placed his bet, putting Joker Memory on the stated square. "Then I'm going with this" said Kakeru, placing one pile of the coins on the square, Black 31.

The ball soon slowed down and finally entered one of the holes. Luckily, the ball fell onto the hole that Kirito betted, Red 7. In other words, Kirito won the first bet. Hiro was surprised and same goes for Lisbeth and Ayumu, though the girls felt excited from seeing this. "All right!" cheered Lisbeth. "Wonderful" praised Kakeru, giving a clap for his opponent. "Keep it up, Kirito-kun!" Ayumu applauded. "Yeah…" Kirito replied.

Then, round after round, the black swordsman managed to win four bets in a row after his first bet. Now, there is only one pile of coins left to win. "All right! Only one left!" cheered Lisbeth.

 _"Up until now, Kirito is in the lead for the roulette. Looks like he's not all luck. If Yui and Strea played him for practice before coming here, guess that's only natural. But, from this moment is the most critical. From my lookup, that casino owner is Kane Kakeru. He's been a professional in playing gambling games. Usually, player that blindly guess would never even won once of their bet. But, if the player got skill, he pulled out something nasty when he himself was on the verge of losing"_ thought Hiro.

"Hey, is it just me or this place is getting hot?" asked Ayumu as she started fanning herself with her hands. "Oh, when you mention it…" Lisbeth agreed, noticing what happened as well. _"I knew it..."_ thought Hiro sharply, having an idea what happened. Even Kirito noticed what happened. _"This guy… he purposely turned on the heater and shut off the air conditioner"_ Kirito thought as he started sweating. _"And he used this to his advantage. If a player sweats too much, he/she won't be able to focus properly"_ Hiro concluded in his mind.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling sick? I thought you were going to save those people?" questioned Kakeru in mockery as he placed the bet. Kirito ended up sweating and gasping heavily. The game is on the sixth bet, but the black swordsman has not placed his yet. When the worker declared time for guessing is over, Kirito desperately and blindly placed his bet, not even using his observation skills. Kakeru smirked at this and then the result came out. Kakeru's bet won and the Joker Memory was dragged away to the winner. On the next few rounds, Kirito tried to observe the ball and carefully place his bet. However, because he was sweating too much, the black swordsman could not properly focused and ended up repeating the same mistakes, making more of the memories being taken away.

Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, Kirito ended up getting off the seat and started gasping for air. "What's wrong, Kirito? You've been losing the last few rounds" asked Lisbeth worriedly. "Sorry, it's too hot that I cannot focus" Kirito apologised and answered. "Hey! Play fair and square! Turn on the air conditioner!" demanded Ayumu. "That I cannot do. This is my Colosseo. When you're here, you play by my rules. If you don't like it, then forfeit. Don't waste my time" Kakeru warned them and refused the demand. "Come on, are you still playing or forfeiting?"

The girls were silenced at this. Indeed, they are at their opponent's territory. It is only natural that such thing happens. _"This is bad. At this rate, we're losing everything. What should I do…?"_ Hiro began pondering. Then he remembered something.

"All right… I…" Kirito stutteringly answered, deciding to continue the game but someone else interrupted his line. "Hold it right there" a male voice said, and it turns out to be Hiro as he stepped forward. "We're switching player. I'll be your opponent" he declared and approached the table. "The next game shall be the last one. Bet all the memories and coins together!"

"Hiro?" "Onii-chan?!" gasped Kirito and the rest. "You? At roulette?" questioned Kakeru. "No. We're playing I'm good at. Baba Nuki (Old Maid)!" declared Hiro. "Very well. Since I'm going to win either way, I don't mind switching games" declared Kakeru.

Afterwards, they change the table for the last match. Hiro had explained, at least to remind himself that since they are using poker cards instead of picture cards with names, the rules are not as strict as they were to be. They will just consider having the same number or title designation (King or 6) rather than the colour and type (Red or Spade) to eliminate the cards in their hands. After shuffling, giving the players cards and eliminate whatever identical they had in hand, the game began. Of course, at first it is all normal. However, the room condition is still hot, and Hiro began to sweat heavily from the overbearing heat.

When it is time for Hiro to pick a card, Kakeru shuffled his hands before declaring himself ready for the bluenette to choose. "Next, you shall pick the King of Club" predicted Kakeru. Hiro was confused but then randomly picked a card among his opponent's hand. When the bluenette looked at the chosen card, he was surprised and the same goes for Ayumu. He really did pick the card King of Club.

Likewise, rule is a rule, Hiro find the matching partner and eliminate it. Now it is Kakeru's turn to pick. "Let see. I'll take the Joker. It's this, right?" guessed Kakeru as he somehow had known Hiro's hand, picked exactly the card he wanted. Once again, even Hiro was surprised. The said man did not even peek at the card in the bluenette's hand but knew where the location of his cards. "What…?" gasped Hiro.

"Why Old Maid?! This guy had been predicting every action so far!" Ayumu whined as she rushed towards her allies in concern. "That man probably used the technic called 'Tell' in poker and no doubt he's good at it. Just from eye movement and perspiration, he can completely read Hiro. That's why he can tell Joker's location and which card Hiro is going to pick. No doubt that his card skill is godlike. In other words, he can make his opponent pick whatever card he wanted" explained Kirito. "But how did you know?" asked Lisbeth. "Yui and Strea told me about it before I came here to challenge him" Kirito answered. "I don't think that's the only problem. Onii-chan is really sucked at playing this kind of games!" Ayumu whined.

As they were arguing, the Old Maid duel continues, with Hiro's frustratingly grumbled that he's been manipulated. "Finally. The game ends here. Next, you'll draw the Joker. Then I'll pick the ace. That's where it's all over!" declared Kakeru before he started laughing out loud. "I love the expression of a loser dog. That's why I can never stop gambling! Hahaha!"

"Onii-chan…" whimpered Ayumu. "No good… he's out" Kirito muttered. "It's okay… Just be quiet and watch" Hiro told them, though his tone does not seem convincing for them. "But Hiro, you…!" Lisbeth argued but the bluenette cuts in. "The boss told me. 80% of a man's job is determination. From there, everything else seems like a bonus" Hiro told them. "So, no matter what the outcome is, I have no regret. That's why I'm continuing"

"Don't be ridiculous! What do you think you can do at this point?! It's all over!" Kirito warned aggressively. However, Ayumu smacked Kirito with her slipper. "That's not true! Onii-chan cared about you guys! If he doesn't, he won't even bother coming here in the first place! He won't even go as far as switching places!" Ayumu reprimanded. "More importantly, Kirito-kun. You're his partner, right? You guys are two in one" she pointed out.

What Ayumu said made Hiro realised something. "That's right. We're W. Two of us are one. We're always two in one right, partner?" asked Hiro before he gave a wink. Kirito was surprised and then realised what his partner was trying to convey before giving a nod. Hiro also nods back. "All right. Let's duel!" the bluenette declared, turning back to his opponent. "This last move will end it"

"Don't make me laugh! You'll be in full of despair!" snorted Kakeru. Afterwards, everything went silent. Unlike earlier, Hiro was not hesitating, instead, he was full of determination that he would not lose. Lisbeth and Ayumu glanced towards the boys back and forth, wondering what they are trying to pull off. The wild card (black swordsman) closed his eyes while this happen.

A second later, Hiro made his move. However, this time, instead of picking it, he poked one of the cards, sending it straight to Kakeru's face, much to his surprise. That is not all, the card that was poke was an Ace, not Joker. The other card was still in Kakeru's hand. "I don't need that remaining card! I already got a Joker with me" declared Hiro. "All right!" Lisbeth and Ayumu cheered in unison.

"What?! It can't be! How?!" yelled Kakeru as he backed off and could not believe what happened. "Let me explain" Hiro said, revealing his waist, which had the Double Driver equipped. "The moment both me and Kirito had this Double Driver equipped, our minds are connected as one. Even though we didn't transform, just equipping the belt allow us to communicate with each other. But that's not all. We can control each other's body movement. So, to conclude it. The one who controls my left hand just now was Kirito" he explained.

"Eh?" the girls replied, confused about what happened. "You can completely read Hiro's expression. So, what I must do was pick the opposite card that he was going to choose. As far as it goes, it's not against the rule" remarked Kirito as he stepped forward, standing beside his partner. "Not bad. I'm just glad you realised it, partner" Hiro praised, giving a grin, which Kirito replied in the same way. "This match…" trailed Hiro but Lisbeth and Ayumu just barged in, pushing the boys out of the way. "Belongs to us!" they yelled.

"Why are you girls taking the glory?!" Hiro whined as the boys quickly approached the girls. _"Money"_ Kakeru grunted frustratingly before inserting his Memory, transforming himself into the golden Dopant. Everyone was surprised. Looks like this owner decides to settle things with force. "You two! Get him!" Lisbeth and Ayumu said in unison as they passed the Gaia Memories Cyclone and Joker respectively to Hiro and Kirito. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" **"Cyclone Joker"**

Hiro's body collapsed while Kirito's body transformed into Cyclone Joker. Lisbeth and Ayumu catches the bluenette's body, preventing the right-side of W from falling immediately and gently placed him on the floor. The golden Dopant then recalled that he was no match against Double and his only choice is to flee. "I'll remember this!" Money proclaimed and run. "Wait!" Kirito yelled, chasing after the Dopant. When the coast is clear, the girls grabbed the coins along with Hiro's body and leave the venue.

Money flee by running. Despite his big size, he is quite fast for people to catch up by running. Upon leaving the tunnel, cars started braking and stop, getting in the way. "You're in the way!" yelled Money, furious that people are getting in his way. Then he heard a bike approaching, which he turned and saw that Cyclone Joker, on Hard Boilder is at full throttle towards him. The bicoloured Kamen Rider rammed against the golden Dopant, knocking him onto the floor. This event was witnessed not just by the vehicle drivers but also the nearby civilians. "What was that?!" one of the male civilians shouted. Kirito realised that fighting here would cause trouble. Hence, he had Hard-Boilder turned and rammed Money, taking the golden Dopant along the ride, before releasing him to a safe location for them to continue fighting.

Since there is nothing to worry about, W gets off the bike and went to confront the golden Dopant. "Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito said in unison to the criminal. "What?!" growled Money as he infuriatedly charged towards the bicoloured Kamen Rider. Cyclone Joker easily blocked the golden Dopant's attack when the latter tried to land a punch and a kick. The bicoloured Kamen Rider pushes his opponent away afterwards.

"Let's give you some spanking!" declared Kirito, taking out the Luna Memory and switching the Cyclone Memory with it. **"Luna Joker"** W's right-side changes colour from green to yellow-gold. Afterwards, "You're not getting away. My fang will reach my target no matter what" Hiro announced, taking control of W this time and switched the left side to Metal. **"Luna Metal"**

Luna Metal then uses the Metal Shaft to give some whipping, beating Money even more. Then they pinned the golden Dopant against the rail. The golden Dopant realised something based on what Hiro ended up blurting. "I see… so you're the **Inescapable Fang**! Did being a guinea pig that brutally slaughter people made you go insane, huh?!" Money questioned. "Partner!" yelled Kirito, worried that Hiro would go into a standstill again.

"Ah, I ended up getting wrapped in the mood and said it. But that no longer matters. Right now, I'm the detective of this city. And I won't forgive those who make the people in this city cries" Hiro announced. "Yeah! That's right!" agreed Kirito before pushing Money away.

 **"Heat Metal"** W changed his right-side to red, which is Heat. Heat Metal then proceeds to punch Money with its fiery fists and smacked with the staff before sending him flying. Now, the Kamen Rider decides to finish the job with Memory Break.

 **"Metal. Maximum Drive"** Kirito took out the Metal Memory and equipped it onto Metal Shaft. This time, Heat Metal held the staff on the middle, which the end sides of it started burning intensely. "Metal Branding!" the bicoloured Kamen Rider dashed towards Money and smacked it with their charged blazing staff, sending the golden Dopant flying and rolling down the stairs.

Money reverted to Kane Kakeru as his Gaia Memory was ejected. The casino owner realised this and refused to give up. "Not yet… Next time, I'll… be lucky for sure!" Kakeru announced, trying to reach his Gaia Memory. However, the Money Memory shattered when he touches it. The spark shocks him to the point that he immediately collapsed.

Afterwards, Kirito undo his transformation and contacted the police to arrest Kane Kakeru, thus ending the farce of this Million Colosseo for good. In addition, the life coins were returned to their respective owners.

* * *

Later in the Asaka Detective Agency…

Kirito was writing the report, on the typewriter and he is doing it in the style Hiro was doing, Romanised Japanese. _"The life coins were given back to their owners. However, for the Asami family, they still have a mountain piles of debts. Regardless, I want to believe there is a meaning in them being together. If they are together, they will be able to overcome this someday"_ though Kirito as he wrote on the report. While he was doing the report, Hiro was listening to Sara's Radio Time and it was played out loud.

"Let's get straight to this corner. Amanohara Mystery Tour. Today's topic is… Kamen Rider!" Sara announced, and Kirito was startled that he stopped typing. "Kamen Rider?" he muttered and went to approach where Hiro was.

"There sure is a lot of submission about this. _'He's a bike-riding monster-defeating superman!'_ Well, Sara believe in this. I believe it, but…" Sara admitted in the radio. "All right! We made Sara-hime laughed!" Kirito said, taking Hiro's Sara postcard. The bluenette was annoyed and tried to get it back. "She called us Kamen Rider!" he squealed. The black swordsman tried to land a kiss on the photo, but Hiro managed to snatch it back before that happens. "We've become an urban legend" Kirito pointed out. "We are the two in one Kamen Rider" Hiro started. "W!" he and Kirito said in unison, with the latter holding onto Hiro's shoulder.

When the black swordsman noticed an opening, he snatched Sara's postcard from Hiro's hand, much to his dismay. "Give it back! I thought you already have one" Hiro argued. "Come on. Don't be so stiff" Kirito said. "Kirito-kun~" a familiar female voice called out. The tone seems sweet but rather intimidating for the black swordsman. Kirito frighteningly freaks out when he heard this, and Hiro uses this chance to snatch back the photo.

The black swordsman saw Asuna at the front door, folding her arms while having an intimidating smile. "A-Asuna? You're early" Kirito stutteringly said. "Can you explain me what this is?" asked Asuna as she took out Sara's signed postcard. It is the same one that Lisbeth and Ayumu took away from Kirito. "Well, a photo postcard. It's the famous DJ Radio, Sara Lindsey Elisabeth" Kirito answered. "I can tell that from just looking. What I am trying to ask, is it true that you take a liking to this girl? I heard from the girls (Ayumu, Lisbeth, Strea, Yui) that you tried to kiss this photo" Asuna interrogated her boyfriend.

"Wait, there must be some misunderstanding" denied Kirito, trying to avoid the question. "Kirito-kun no Baka!" Asuna shouted angrily before she held Kirito's shirt and then pinned Kirito to the wall. While all this happen, Hiro just watch and do nothing to help. "Hey, partner. Lend me your help, please…? We're two in one, right?" pleaded Kirito as he requested assistance. "Sorry. There's no 'We' for this. You should settle this yourself since you made your Koinyoubou (A beloved wife) angry" Hiro refused with justification before deciding to sit on the chair and continue to hear the radio while pretending nothing happen around him. "Prepare yourself, Kirito-kun!" Asuna warned as she ready her fist, which in Kirito's imagination, it was charged up like a Sword Skill. "Sorry!" Kirito apologised but that does not stop his girlfriend from teaching him a lesson, which he ended up yelling throughout the whole beating.

 **I apologised for the late update. Too much things going on and I can't say. Oh, I forgot to mention about the dates here I'm writing here. Honestly, I could leave it ambiguous without them but then I wouldn't be able to keep track when did this happen and so on. Just to be clear, I am ignoring all public holidays in Japan or whatsoever. Mainly because, these detectives never get any holiday in their work if Dopants wreak havoc. I mean, police are all like that too. In any case, it's all assumptions. I can always change the date if someone had something against it. In addition, I would interchange the term between hime and princess, which has the same meaning. The same goes for Kirito, which I will call the Black Swordsman/Black swordsman. In addition, people don't work on Sundays unless its emergency or their financial is in the red.**

 **Just so you know, Asuna and the rest are still there, except they are doing Pet searching jobs while Hiro, Kirito, Ayumu, Strea/Yui (either one) and any female character from SAO help in Dopants cases. I would put all of them back, depending on the situation. In other words, it's half filler and half moving onward plot or fully filler I guess for this kind of chapter?**

 **Oh, the chronology I am following will be based on the original series of Kamen Rider W with slight of naming changes for the characters involved but I am planning to ignore some of the arcs, like Heaven's Tornado that has Cockroach Dopant, Virus Dopant that has a coma patient as the Dopant, Yesterday Dopant where they deal with a wickedly devil woman. Honestly that arc does not put any interest in me to write something similar. Furthermore, I will change the order for some of the arcs in a BAC or CAB order rather than ABC order from the original plotline. What I meant by that will be shown later, hopefully.**

 **Usually, I don't use Mr and Mrs but to simplify things in the story, I will use them when involved parents. Depends. As always, Please Rate and Review.**


	4. The Targeted Family

**5th July 2060, Monday**

A politician campaign is being held at an open space nearby Amanohara Power Wind Laboratory. The campaign is about the project of building a second tower at Amanohara City, which is the second Amanohara Tower. This tower bears some resemblance to a space station due to its exterior design. Furthermore, project was proposed by a councilwoman. She has brown eyes, black hair tied in a bun, wearing a black suit with skirt plus black shoes. This woman is Hayami Sadako. Of course, she was not alone. There was a little girl around 8 years old with her. She had brown eyes, black hair tied in twin-tails and wearing a black dress with shoes of the same colour. This girl is Hayami Mai, Sadako's daughter.

Currently, the councilwoman is giving a speech regarding the project towards the guests that arrived at the campaign. Mid speech, she invited her daughter to promote and hasten the construction of the second tower. Of course, the crowd gave a round of applause.

The speech content aside, the venue was guarded with police officers, led by Nobu Kouji. On top of that, she, as the VIPs hired a bodyguard with escorts from Asaka Detective Agency and they are Kirito, Ayumu and Sinon.

"How bogus. Purposely bringing her kid to make the construction more appealing?" Kirito whined whisperingly as he and the girls approached to where Nobu and the officers were. "Oh, why are you complaining? I thought that's a strategy as well" Sinon argued. Of course, Nobu heard what they said. "Detective?! Wait. Why are you guys here?!" Nobu questioned irritatingly, somehow unpleasant to see their faces there.

The trio then showed their entry permit passes to the said officer. "Councilwoman Hayami requested me as her bodyguard" Kirito answered. "Why you?! Our police presence should be enough!" objected Nobu, which Kirito ended up sighing.

"It's not like I'm heavily invested in this request either…" the black swordsman whined but he was elbowed by Hiro's little sister. "'The customer is God'" Ayumu reminded strictly. Nobu smirked at this and chuckle, which made Kirito annoyed and they started a staring contest.

Though their moment was suddenly interrupted when gunshots were heard and bullets randomly hitting things on the venue, making a mess out of it. The audiences were shockingly frightened and panicky flee. Kirito and the girls immediately rushed to where Sadako and Mai were, getting them to take cover. While trying to get the situation under control, Nobu got hit on his right leg from one of the bullets, causing the officer to yelp in pain as he fell.

They then took the VIPs to hide behind the bushes as the attack continues. Kirito then believed he need to transform and told the girls with hand gestures. Initially he tried with how he poses before transforming but they do not understand. Only when he uses his hands to make a W-shaped, they understood and give an OK sign. With that, the black swordsman makes his leave to somewhere secluded to transform.

"Kirito-san?!" gasped Sadako worriedly, wondering why the bodyguard suddenly fled. However, the bullets attack continues, and they were forced to take cover. Even Nobu, who hides under one of the chair noticed the detective leaving. "Hey, detective! You're just saving yourself?!" he yelled angrily but was taken aback when a bullet hits the ground near him.

The black swordsman then made it to under a secluded area, unwatched by anyone, which gives him the opportunity to transform. "Hiro!" Kirito called out and put on the Double Driver on his waist. Back in the garage, Hiro, who was reading noticed the call and take out the Cyclone Memory, inserting it into the right slot. Kirito then initiates the transformation procedures. **"Cyclone Joker"**

At the bushes, Sinon and the others are still trying their best to be aware of the bullets attack, avoiding them when they strike. Of course, being attacked like this make a little girl like Mai terribly frightened. She reaches to grab onto something inside her handbag, which is a small knitted, colourful doll knight. _"Papa, hurry and save me!"_ she prayed inside her mind.

Then, Cyclone Joker appears, leaping in front of the group when a few bullets were about to hit them. The bicoloured Kamen Rider intercepted it by catching one of the bullets while tanking the rest, thus protecting them. Mai then noticed Cyclone Joker in front of her and without thinking, she muttered, "Papa?"

"Eh?" Her mother and the bicoloured Kamen Rider then turned to Mai in confusion, surprised about what she said. "You came, Papa!" yelled Mai excitedly. "Eh? Papa? Pa- Papa? Papa?" Kirito stutteringly glanced back and forth while pointing at himself. Even he was confused why Mai called him 'Papa'. As for Sinon and Ayumu, they glanced to each other and at W and Mai, back and forth. "Eh?!" the two girls then yelled in surprised.

Though before anyone can say anything further, a few more bullets came in, hitting W. _"Kirito, focus!"_ Hiro whisperingly reminded his partner through telepathy. "Take cover in that building! Hurry!" Kirito ordered them before they leave as per told. "Papa!" Mai called out as her mother take her to safety.

Cyclone Joker then approach closer to where the stage was while avoiding the bullets with all his might. "I can't tell where the enemy is firing from at all. It is highly probable that a Dopant is behind this, Kirito" Hiro pointed out while trying to locate the source. "We should fire back!" Kirito suggested, taking out the Trigger Memory.

"Stop! We need to find the enemy's location first. Trigger is too powerful to use without knowing that" Hiro warned. "So, we have to focus on defending first?!" Kirito replied, taking out the Metal Memory instead and switch Joker Memory with it. **"Metal"**

 **"Cyclone Metal"** W's right side turned grey as he approached forward. Then, the bicoloured Kamen Rider used the Metal Shaft and deflect all the incoming bullets. After doing that for a few swings, the bullets stopped coming. W was on guard, preparing if the enemy was trying to do an ambush. For five seconds, they glanced around and saw that the coast is clear. "Doesn't look like the enemy is going to fire again anytime soon since the place is deserted. Kirito, let's go check that building" Hiro suggested. "Yeah" agreed Kirito as he leave the venue.

Though, Sadako's daughter then rushed out from the building followed by the mother herself, Sinon and Ayumu. "Papa! Wait! Mai is here! Papa! Wait!" Mai shouted, trying to get the attention of W. "Mai!" Sadako called out worriedly, trying to stop her daughter from going further. The little girl seems sad that W did not respond to her calling as she took out the doll knight and stared at it. Afterwards, the quartet then returns inside, taking cover inside the building.

"Hey, why is that girl is calling those two 'Papa'?" Ayumu asked whisperingly to Sinon as they walked inside. "I don't know. As far as I am concern, Kirito and Asuna only had Yui-chan and Strea as their children. I don't recall them having any child of their own flesh and blood" Sinon explained in the same manner.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cyclone Metal went to the building where the bullets believed to come from. The bicoloured Kamen Rider even went up to the roof to check for any remains of their enemies. However, there is no sight of anyone there, not even an ant. Likewise, it does not seem there is anything else out of the ordinary. All they can see are a few pools of water located on the building next to it.

"Not good. Not even a shred of evidence" muttered Kirito in dismay. "Kirito. Send me that bullet. Maybe we can find out some clue about it" Hiro suggested as Kirito looks at the bullet he caught. It looks like a normal bullet but fully greyish blue in colour instead of gold. "All right" Kirito replied before he undoes the transformation, reverting to his human form and Hiro's mind return to the body.

 _"Papa! You came!"_

Upon remembering this made Kirito to recall what happened last night.

* * *

 _(Flashback with Kirito speaking)_

 _The request came in last night like a sudden gust. City councilwoman, Hayami Sadako needed a guard for herself and her daughter._

 **4th July 2060, Sunday**

It was already night, but Asaka Detective Agency was still on business hours, with Kirito, Hiro, Sinon and Ayumu on duty. At that time, they were attending two guests, which were Sadako and Mai. The mother explained the request, which is hiring bodyguard for herself and her daughter during the campaign tomorrow. When asked the reason, Sadako explained that they were being targeted. As proof, she showed photos of a murder notice. It was the word 'KILL' in dots style on the wall, which was obviously written using bullets because there were holes that logically and can only be done such way. Sinon and Hiro each look at one of the photos. "Dopant?" guessed Ayumu. "I can't tell but the possibility is high" Hiro answered. "I heard a rumour that you people specialise in this" said Sadako. "I will pay for everything in advance" she declared.

Ayumu was excited when hearing this but Hiro elbowed her to behave properly, which she apologised in a nod. "Do you have any idea who the culprit might be?" asked Sinon. "No" Sadako confidently answered and her tone seem stiff, which Kirito noticed and felt uneasy. "There are a lot of enemies in government work. I can't worry about things like that all day long"

"My apologies. But personally speaking, I don't think I can accept this request as of now" Kirito said as he walked away from the guests. "Your daughter is in danger too. You shouldn't bring her with you" he advised, which made the mother to stand up. "The people in this city are too apathetic about the government! Without a performance like this, the construction won't happen!" Sadako justified her argument.

"Excuse me. It's not like I don't comprehend what you are trying to imply. But, I had to admit he got a point. On my point of view, having a child of her age getting involved in this kind of matter isn't very appropriate. Can you reconsider this?" pleaded Hiro.

"No matter what you said, I'm not changing my mind" Sadako said strictly. "Don't you worry about your daughter at all?" questioned Kirito. "I'm okay, Oji-san (Uncle)" said a little girl's voice and Kirito noticed that it was Mai. She was holding his shirt from his left side. "O-Oji-san?!" Kirito repeated stutteringly in surprised. Ayumu, Hiro and Sinon almost burst into laughter from hearing the honorifics of Kirito but they managed to hold on. "I… believe" Mai told him. "Believe? In what?" asked Kirito curiously. "Secret!" Mai answered cheerfully.

The black swordsman stared at the little girl, whose smile seems earnest and innocent. For some reason, he felt turning the request shattered this image and he just wanted to protect it. "Very well. We'll accept this request" declared Kirito, which made his other friends surprised. "Thank you, Oji-san" Mai thanked, which made the black swordsman felt weird. He did not mean the gratitude but being referred as Oji-san is what made him felt weird.

"Then, it's settled" Sadako declared, giving a filled enveloped to Hiro. "Let's go, Mai" she ordered. "Yes" Mai responded, and she left the agency with her mother.

"They left…" Ayumu muttered a minute after the customers left. "Partner, what's gotten in your mind? Why did you suddenly accept the request?" Hiro asked, looking at his partner. However, Kirito remain silent, but he got this gloomy look on his face, which indicates that he seems worried about something. "What's wrong?" asked Sinon.

"That girl's smile, how should I say this? Perhaps would vanish, is what I feel. Something about it probably drew me in. If by chance we refuse this request, I feel like I would regret it later" Kirito admitted. "So that's why you accepted this request" deduced Ayumu.

"I can understand. After seeing that earnest smile, I don't think turning a blind eye is a wise decision" Hiro concurred. "Partner…" muttered Kirito. "With that in mind, I think I'll do some investigation. If I figure out anything, I'll let you know" Hiro informed his partner. "We'll help, Papa!" volunteered Yui as she and Strea in their holograms appeared on Kirito's shoulder. "Thank you" thanked Kirito.

 _(Flashback end)_

* * *

Kirito was walking towards the place where Sinon and the others take cover while his mind was filled with what happened yesterday. Though, the black swordsman does not realise that the two girls were just in front of him. Ayumu then take out her green slipper with the text, 'You have a kid?!' and smacked Kirito, which made him get a grip on reality.

"Unbelievable!" Ayumu yelled angrily. "What is it?!" Kirito responded in the same manner. "Why are you playing dumb? We're talking about Mai-chan. I can't believe that you are having an affair with your own customer. Plus, a politician and you made her conceive Mai" Sinon pointed out. The black swordsman seems annoyed from this sudden accusation.

"Don't jump to conclusions. I never done such thing. That girl mistook me for someone else" Kirito argued. "Then, what about Hiro?" Sinon asked. "No way he would be. He does not even know them" Kirito answered. "Really?" asked Ayumu sceptically. The black swordsman was rather uneasy by this but then remembered about Sadako and Mai.

"Oh, what about that mother and daughter?" asked Kirito. "Oh, we leave them with Amanohara Police. They'll be safe for the time being" Sinon explained, which the black swordsman nodded in response. "That's it. Please deliver this to Hiro" Kirito requested, giving the bullet to Sinon. "What about you?" asked Sinon. "I'm going to the police. Leave the rest to me. You two be on standby at the office" Kirito told them. "I'm counting on you. Bye-bye" he said before leaving but Hiro's little sister was annoyed from this. "Eh? Hey! Why are you giving orders to Chief? Hey! Come back!" ordered Ayumu but the black swordsman outright ignore her.

* * *

At Amanohara Police Department…

Sadako and Mai were inside one of the meeting rooms, with a female officer and Kagami Tetsuo looking after them. Mai is drawing something on her small notebook with crayons. Kirito then came in from the other doors and take a seat.

Then, Sadako stood up, with Kagami following her and went to approach the black swordsman. "Kirito-san! I'm very disappointed in you!" she complained. The black swordsman was confused at first but then realised what she meant. Sadako was referring to when Kirito suddenly left off somewhere during the attack. While the black swordsman was only trying to help as Kamen Rider W, he remembered that he got a responsibility to keep his and Hiro's identity as that a secret.

"Oh, that. I wasn't really running away. You know, there's something…" Kirito stuttered while trying to give a reasonable excuse, which made Kagami grinned and chuckled before he puts his hand on the table, which got the former's attention. "Man! So pathetic" Kagami commented, with mockery. Of course, the black swordsman was not amused by this.

"You're one to talk. What would have happened if the Kamen Rider didn't come? Kagami-san, you should have come!" Kirito snorted, which made the mentioned officer nervous because the former was right. "I was so busy with all kinds of stuffs" Kagami explained while wondering around, with the black swordsman following. _"Yeah, right. Slacking off"_ Kirito snarked in his mind.

"Oh, and they are having a funeral for Nobu-kun" added Kagami, which made Kirito's mind blown. "Funeral?!" gasped Kirito, shocked to hear this. The police are having a funeral for Nobu Kouji, who is still alive. "No, he just got shot in the leg. No, he just got shot…" Kirito tried to correct Kagami, repeatedly but the latter ignorantly keep mentioning how Nobu got a good career that has to end.

As for Sadako, she was through with their antics and decides to interrupt. "Tomorrow, we'll be negotiating to purchase the land. Make sure you don't repeat today's incident!" she informed and warned them, which made them silent. "Your reputations are at stakes!"

"Oh, I understand. I'll up the number of guards right away" replied Kagami with a salute. "Don't worry. Papa will definitely come save us again" Mai informed, which got the attention of everyone in the room. "Look" she showed the crayon drawing that she made on her notebook. It was a drawing of Kamen Rider W. Kagami and Kirito were silenced as they went to approach Sadako's daughter. "Papa… is that Kamen Rider?" asked Kagami, which Mai replied with a nod. As for Kirito, he stared at the drawing, which Mai had added the word 'Papa', beside the Kamen Rider.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Asaka Detective Agency…

Ayumu seemed very annoyed when she barged into the door. "Calm down, Ayumu" Sinon reminded as she came afterwards. "How could I stay calm?!" Ayumu barked before she just stormed off into the garage with Sinon following her. "Onii-chan! Are you there?!" the little sister called out in temper.

The bluenette was there but he was standing with his body bent, which there is a reason for it. He heard his sister as she was climbing the stairs. "Hey! You're late. Hurry up with the bullet" Hiro bossily demanded. "Don't just say 'Hey'! Mou!" Ayumu yelled.

Hiro's little sister and Sinon then get up to the platform where Hiro was at and look at him standing while bent. The two of them were silenced as they were speechless when they found out the cause. The bluenette had a garbage bin stuck on his butt, which is why he was standing while bent. "What is this?" muttered Sinon. "How do you explain your situation?!" Ayumu asked worriedly as she and Sinon rushed towards the bluenette.

"This is…" trailed Hiro before Yui's hologram appeared on Hiro's shoulder. "After waking up from transformation, Hiro-san ended up like this" MHCP01 reported. "That happened?!" gasped Sinon. "More importantly, where's the bullet?" asked Hiro. "Oh, here" said Sinon, giving the bullet to Hiro as he started to look at it.

"Thank you" Hiro thanked. "But, are you okay, Hiro?" Sinon asked in worry. "Oh, even though I'm like this, it doesn't affect my lookup so I'm not that worried" he said while started walking away. Sinon was puzzled that the bluenette can be so carefree when his condition is so embarrassing. "It really worried me!" Ayumu whined worriedly and went to his back, trying to pull out the garbage bin but it does not come off. "What is this?! It does not come off at all!" she complained before attempting to pull the bin out again. "Where did the enemy fire from?" Hiro asked out loud while looking at the bullet.

* * *

That night, at Morgan Apartment…

Councilwoman Sadako was taking residence there with her daughter, in 7th floor. From the balcony of their resident, they can see the nearby river that is closed to the building. Mai was somewhere already asleep in a different room. Their home was guarded by bodyguards consisted of policemen. A small number of them are staying close to the VIP while the remaining ones are staking out from outside. Currently, Sadako herself was giving instructions to the bodyguards with her about what they are going to do and her schedule for tomorrow. "We've finally made it this far. All that's left is to obtain this land…" she said.

Suddenly, gunshots came in, breaking the glass window and hitting the wall, which shocks everyone. More and more are coming, with one of them hitting the light source, leaving the room pitch-black. Of course, when this happens, Kirito, who was on standby near the door quickly dragged Sadako outside the room, put her into hiding. The other bodyguards quickly rushed out too for a cover and took out their guns to counter.

 **"Bat"** As the sniping continues, Kirito activate Bat Shot in Live Mode and had it scout the affected area while snapping photos. A few of the shots nearly hit the Memory Gadget but it managed to avoid it. Seconds later, the sniping stopped, indicating the attack was over, at least for the time being.

"This time I was a bit helpful, right?" asked Kirito. "It's only natural to do this much" snorted Sadako. The other bodyguard nearby then helped her gets up and evacuate. Afterwards, Kirito prudently went to the balcony to look around. As far as he goes, there is no additional sniping assaults. _"Still, this method isn't normal. Why go this far to target her?"_ pondered Kirito.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Elisabeth mansion, at the dining table…

Shane is drinking some wine while looking at a magazine and holding the family pet, Riki with Sara keeping him company. While pouring the wine into his glass, he was reading at a certain page of his material. It was about Councilwoman Hayami Sadako and her project, which is the Second Amanohara Tower. "This is no good" Shane started. "We can't allow this space station-looking thing be built! It doesn't fit with this city's style!" he whined.

As for his daughter, she sighed in exasperation. After all, since yesterday, her father had been complaining all about the councilwoman and her project. "Otou-sama, since yesterday, that's all you're talking about" Sara stated.

The father then chuckled amusingly from hearing his daughter's opinion. "My, don't say that, Sara" Shane said as he gets up. "I… am merely lamenting the future of my city, Amanohara" the father said as he walked towards Sara. "What a truly foolish politician. How is this for the future of the children?!"

As Shane laughed, Riki then mewled in disapproval before it gets off from his hand and went under the table. Sara then went under the table to pick their pet cat. "Look. Riki is saying he doesn't like it either!" Shane continued before laughing. Afterwards, he went back to his seat. "And worst of all, this tower… it's construction location is terrible!" berated Shane.

"That's Hermione Onee-sama's jurisdiction, isn't it? Lately, Onee-sama apparently hasn't been properly her followers lately" Sara pointed out before she went out of the table and approach her father. "I wonder if Hermione understands? Amanohara's future is at stake!" Shane mentioned aggressively. Then, he noticed his daughter sitting close to him and chuckled. "No… it's our future"

* * *

 **6th July 2060, Tuesday**

That morning, Kirito went outside Morgan Apartment, talking to Hiro on the phone. He was using the phone on his left hand while his right hand was holding Bat Shot's camera mode. "Hiro, did you see Bat Shot's pictures?" the black swordsman asked while looking at the captured photos as he walked towards the nearby rail.

At the garage, Hiro still has his butt stuck with the garbage bin. Sinon was there too with him, sitting on the sofa. "How's compelling. During the gunshots, it took pictures of all the surroundings, including the sky and nearby buildings, yet nothing's in the pictures" Hiro explained.

"Yeah. It's like the sniper has no form" Kirito muttered. Then he remembered about the bullet that he asked Hiro for analysis. "Come to think of it, what about the bullet? Did you find out anything about it?"

"About that, that bullet isn't made of metal. It's the tooth from a lifeform" Hiro informed him. "Tooth?!" echoed Kirito, surprised to hear the bullets used are teeth. "Tooth? Like the tooth in one's mouth?" he asked. "Indeed" Hiro confirmed. "If we knew how the sniping was done, we'd be able to identify the Memory. We'll definitely find it!" he declared.

While the bluenette was talking to his partner, Ayumu then come up with a bottle of yellowish liquid and a glass. She pours the liquid into the glass and made Hiro drink it. The bluenette immediately coughed out of nausea. "What's wrong?" Kirito asked. "Nothing. No problem. I'll call you later" Hiro said before putting off the call and glared at his little sister. "Ayumu! You! What did you make me drink?!" he berated.

"It's vinegar. Vinegar!" Ayumu answered and showed the bottle that labelled _Vinegar_. "Vinegar?" echoed Sinon. "What do you plan to do with that?" she asked. "Simple. Drinking it will make your body more limber" Ayumu explained while grooving.

"Where did you get that logic?" asked Sinon sceptically as she sweat-dropped. "As far as I know, vinegar is a type of acetic acid. Does it even such characteristics?" Hiro asked curiously.

While the bluenette was wondering, his little sister puts the bottle and glass on the table before she proceeds to stretch backwards in a yoga pose, in front of her big brother. "It does!" yelled Ayumu, which surprises Hiro. "Oh…" the bluenette muttered. "It doesn't" sighed Sinon.

* * *

An hour later…

Kirito was inside a van, filled with bodyguards along with the VIPs. The black swordsman sat in front of Sadako, who was at the back row with her daughter and a bodyguard. They are currently on the way to the land suggested for construction to do purchase negotiation.

"Yesterday, you saved Mama, right?" Mai asked to Kirito. "Eh? Yeah. Well, it's my job" the black swordsman answered. "Thank you, Oji-san" thanked Mai. "No… Please stop calling me Oji-san…" Kirito whined whisperingly.

Then the black swordsman glanced to Mai and saw that she was colouring her drawing with crayons. To be specific, she was drawing her mother, herself and Kamen Rider, whom she viewed as her father, with all of them holding hands. "Do you like Kamen Rider that much?" asked Kirito, which Mai replied with a nod. "Is Kamen Rider really your Papa?" he asked again, which made Sadako's daughter raise a brow. "Why ask that?" asked Mai.

"Uh…I am an acquaintance… of Kamen Rider" Kirito answered randomly. "You know Papa?!" asked Mai excitedly, surprised to hear that Oji-san (Kirito) knew about Kamen Rider.

"No… I mean… It's not…" Kirito stutteringly tried to correct Mai but then remembered about the rule not to give away his identity as a Kamen Rider. It made him paused and decide not to continue. Even if that is not the case, he was not sure how to interact with cheerful personality type like Mai. _"Man, I'm not really good with these kind of children"_ Kirito pondered. "Look at this, Oji-san" Mai called out while showing her knight doll. "What is that?" asked Kirito but before Mai could answer, the driver suddenly informed the passengers that they will be arriving at their destination. Their attentions were diverted, preventing any further conversation. "Tell me about Papa later, Oji-san" said Mai.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the CEO Office of Dial Corporation…

CEO Hermione, with her husband observing had been scolding Development Team 8 for not doing their job properly. After a while when the said team leave the room, Hermione went to her table and pick up the phone, which her husband had dial her managing operator.

"It's me. Dismiss all of Team 8. In return had Team 9 proceed with the development. That's all" Hermione ordered and ended the call immediately. She did it very strictly and direct, with no second thoughts, which earn a grin from her husband. "You deal with people like a bolt of lightning" commented Junnosuke.

"Are you sure you won't regret that tomorrow?" asked a familiar female voice before she giggles. The couple look around to find the source and then noticed a familiar someone. It was Sara, in her Dopant form, standing at the ceiling. Usually, it is impossible to do so for normal humans due to gravitational force, but Dopant's abilities break that logic. Specifically, Clay Doll specialties is in gravitational force. "Hi!" Sara greeted cheerfully.

Hermione, who was short tempered immediately frown when seeing her little sister. "Sara. Are you screwing around?!" she scolded and step forward. Then, Clay Doll floats down, not even falling. "I came to warn you. Otou-sama is in a terrible mood" Sara informed her. Then, Sara's brother-in-law came and gave a pat on her sister's shoulder. "Is it about that tower? This thorn in Hermione's side. Allow me to handle this" Junnosuke volunteered.

* * *

Back to where Kirito was…

The VIP group with bodyguards had arrived at the mentioned land that they wanted to purchase. There was a small building surrounded by a gate. All of them had get out from the car.

On the roadway, there are several decorations, used as obstacles for radio-controlled cars. Speaking of radio control cars, there are two adult men playing them. One of the men had red eyes and black spiky hair. He wore sunglasses, green shirt inside a black jacket, black pants and white sport shoes. This man is Kazuraba Hanzou, the owner of that land. The other man had grey eyes and hair. He wore a red bandana over his head, white-red striped shirt in a shoulder-strapped jeans and blue shoes. This man is Hanzou's subordinate, Kikuchi Kogoro.

Even though Sadako and the others are nearby, the duo did not bother to greet them and instead continue enjoying their game. Tired of waiting, Sadako decided to take the initiative and went to approach the owner from a roundabout manner while calling out to him. "Kazuraba-san! Kazuraba-san! Please listen to me!" Sadako ordered.

"Hey, Hayami-san. No matter how many times you come, the answer is the same" Hanzou answered and chuckled. "Mail transport, wind flow, area, this is the optimal place for the Second Amanohara Tower" Sadako tried to justify her reason to purchase the land.

"Oh, really? But even if you say that, I need this place. I mean look. This is the best place for radio-controlled cars!" countered Hanzou. Since the owner was distracted, his control car ended up crashing against his subordinate's. Noticing this, Hanzou went to check up on his toy car, all the while ignoring Sadako. Then, Mai stepped forward and approached the owner.

"Please! Listen to my Mama" the little girl pleaded with a bow. The owner noticed this and sighed in exasperation. "Man… Your Mama sure has you trained. Children shouldn't work. How about playing like a kid?" Hanzou suggested while completely ignoring Mai's pleading. Then, the black swordsman stepped forward and approach the owner. "How about you? For your age, you sure play a lot. Your Mama will scold you" snorted Kirito.

Hearing this statement made the land owner stood and stare at Kirito while taking off his sunglasses. "My Mama never scolded me" Hanzou retorted before glancing to where the Hayami family was. "Anyway, I can't respect a person using a little kid like this for their job"

"It's just a parent and child working together to make this construction happen" Sadako justified, which made the land owner sniggered at the statement. "Because you always say such transparent thing, people resented you. That's why your husband even…" Hanzou mocked and when he started mentioning about the councilwoman's husband, she had this shocked look on her face. "Kazuraba-san!" Sadako immediately interrupted when the land owner mentioned about her husband. Upon seeing how the councilwoman behaved, Kirito suspected there must be something behind it.

Then, a man in suit, with a scarf that has bloodstained arrived, which the land owner noticed. Of course, that man is none other than Hayate Junnosuke though now a part of the Elisabeth family, his name is now Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth. "I got a customer. Will you leave?" asked Hanzou. "No. We'll be waiting from the waterside over there" Sadako answered, referring to the water edge that is located on the opposite side of the land, with the water as the boundaries. Afterwards, the councilwoman and her daughter take their leave, with Kirito in suit. Simultaneously, Junnosuke even takes the initiative to approach the land owner while passing by the black swordsman. The two men glanced only a bit at each other when they passed by.

"I'm Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth" Junnosuke introduced himself. The land owner nodded in comprehensibly and with head gestures, told his subordinate as well as Junnosuke to follow him until they reach the gate. Upon arriving there, Hanzou opened the entrance for people to enter. "Go ahead" he invited and Junnosuke was about to enter. However, the land owner immediately stopped Hermione's husband using his car controller's antenna. "Is it you? The lucky boy that went from a salesman to a commander?" Hanzou questioned.

"Your ineptitude is causing trouble for my wife" answered Junnosuke before he glanced to where the leaving VIPs were. "You just need to eliminate that woman, right? Want me to do it in your place?" he volunteered.

Hearing this line made the land owner to be annoyed. That was his job, yet someone had to be a busybody to intervene with it. "Please don't interfere with my chance for promotion!" barked Hanzou before he gave the order for Kogoro to get ready, using head gesture. His subordinate nodded in agreement and went to do preparation. "Just me is enough" Hanzou retorted before shutting the entrance.

* * *

A few minutes later…

Sadako and the others are at the waterside, hanging out for a bit before they decide to go meet Hanzou again. Kirito took this chance and made a phone call to Hiro. The black swordsman reported about his suspicions regarding Kazuraba Hanzou.

At that time, Hiro was walking through the platform in the garage, with the said garbage bin still stuck. Ayumu was sneaking behind him, with a bottle of vinegar and a glass filled with same liquid, in her hands. Sinon was at the sofa, looking over the printed photos that Bat Shot snapped during the night attack.

"Kazuraba Hanzou? That guy is suspicious? Why?" asked Hiro. "Instinct. I don't like the look on his eyes. Plus, the way he talks feels wicked. I can't help but feel uneasy about him" Kirito explained. "All right. I'll see if I can find anything about him from here" Hiro replied. The bluenette indeed realised that his sister was trying to put vinegar in his mouth again and got annoyed from her sneaking onto him.

"Will you stop that?" Hiro told Ayumu, which inadvertently was heard by Kirito. "What is it?" asked Kirito. "Oh, sorry. Private discussion from here. More importantly, I learn something in the lookup regarding the second Amanohara Tower project" Hiro said as he went to the whiteboard and started writing a name with a whiteboard marker. "Last year, Hayami Sakuya, Sadako-san's husband and Mai-chan's father was murdered" he reported. "What?!" gasped Kirito. "The motive was probably the Second Amanohara Tower project. This project was originally under Hayami Sakuya's supervision" Hiro informed.

"Could it be that Kazuraba Hanzou killed him?" guessed Kirito anxiously. "I rather not jump to conclusions yet. I'll ask Rhythm and Uncle Magic if they can find out more about Kazuraba Hanzou and the land that he owned. Plus, I almost figured out what Gaia Memory used by the culprit. For the time being, you keep an eye on the mother and daughter" Hiro explained and ordered. "Okay" Kirito replied before ending the call.

Afterwards, the black swordsman approached the councilwoman and requested to talk with her in private. Sadako agreed and told the two of the other four bodyguards to look after her daughter that wants to play at the water edge while the two went to the railing to talk. With no one else to eavesdrop, Kirito asked about what Hayami Sakuya and whether it is true that mentioned person was murdered. Sadako was shocked to hear this and wondered how her hired bodyguard knew about this. The black swordsman just replied that he had someone investigated her background, which the councilwoman was silent about this.

"It is true. My husband was assassinated. The culprit still hasn't been caught. I found him on the ground trying to protect Mai in his office" Sadako explained. "I see… Does Mai-chan knew about this?" asked Kirito. "No… she didn't remember what happened. There's no need for her to know about it, at least not now" answered Sadako.

"Then, why do you become a councilwoman?" asked Kirito. "The Second Amanohara Tower Project was my husband's dream. Carrying it on and completing it is my dream. For that sake, I become a councilwoman" Sadako explained. After hearing this and witnessing all the events that occurred, there is one conclusion that comes to the black swordsman's mind. Sadako lied to Mai about Sakuya being alive and the little girl was dragged in the political work, with the idea that she would meet her father if she helps her mother in her work.

"That's why you lied to your young daughter? If that girl helps you in your work, she'll be able to meet him" deduced Kirito. "That's right" Sadako confirmed it, which had a worried look on Kirito's face. "You shouldn't lie like that" the black swordsman told her. "Even if it is a lie, I don't think she can live without it" said Sadako before she glances to where her daughter was.

* * *

Simultaneously, Hiro was inside the Planetary Bookshelves, trying to find out the Gaia Memory used in this case. As for Sinon and Ayumu, they are sitting at the sofa, looking over the photos. "Antiquity Creature and Teeth. So far this is correct" Hiro said, as the books began paring down to only tens. "But, I haven't been able to find the last keyword. Just how the enemy hide itself? And where?"

"Normally, for snipers, we prefer high places and had more cover. Somewhere far away but can see the targets clearly with a scope" Sinon informed. "But the culprit is a Dopant. Even without any experience, one would learn to use its' powers hands on. Plus, the sniping might be done much closer than that" Ayumu reminded.

"Now that makes it even more confusing. Even I can't help on this one" Sinon stated, frustrated that common sense does not apply for Dopants. "Don't worry. Just say anything that comes to mind" Hiro said. "How about dark places?" Ayumu asked. "I did try that before, but it didn't work. Plus, Yui and Strea could not find anything out of ordinary from those spots in the photos even when using night-vision analysis" Hiro explained. "So, it's not in the photo but hiding somewhere outside the photo?" guessed Sinon.

Hearing that clicks something in Hiro's mind and he believe he figured out the missing keyword. "Sinon-san, you might be a genius!" Hiro pointed out. "Eh? What? Did I say something good?" Sinon asked, confused about what just happened.

"Yes, sort of. To be accurate, it's not a place not in the photo. It is a place not reflected in the photo that we didn't consider earlier. If we consider that, then the keyword is Neither Air nor Surrounding. In other words, if I eliminate air and land lifeforms from the lookup…" Hiro said while inputting the keyword, which the unrelated books go away, leaving only one. The bluenette then went to approach the book, which the title Anomalocaris appeared on it as soon as he grabbed it. "Anomalocaris"

"The memory's identity was Anomalocaris" Hiro said after reading the said book and exited the Planetary Bookshelves. "Anomalocaris?" echoed Sinon. "If I am not mistaken, that shrimp looking thing?" guessed Ayumu.

"Yes, Anomalocaris Dopant's mouth had many teeth and can fired them from inside the water like guided missile" Hiro confirmed and explained. "So, the culprit was hiding in the water all this time. No wonder, we couldn't find anything unusual in the photos" said Sinon. "What do you mean?" Ayumu asked, could not understand what the Beauty Sniper meant.

"Water cast reflection like mirrors but can be opaque as well. In other words, even if you can see your reflection on the water, it does not mean you can see anything beneath it just from the surface. Simply saying, even if you took all the photos you want from the surface, you can't really see if there is anything or anyone down there unless you go dive and experience it with your own eyes" Sinon explained. "In any case, let's inform Kirito" Hiro said and take out his phone to immediately contact Kirito. The black swordsman answered it, where he was alone at that time as the bluenette informed him about his recent lookup.

"In the water?" Kirito echoed. "That's right. The sniper was there in the two sniping attacks" Hiro informed as he recalled the pools of water on the roof and the river nearby the sniping attacks. Then, something came into his mind, which he decides to say it. "Water's edge! Keep the mother and daughter away from water's edge!" Hiro told him worriedly.

Kirito then looks at where Sadako and Mai were currently. To his concern, they are very close to the water edge, making them very vulnerable for the sniper hiding underwater. "Your brain sure passed with flying colours, but your timing is unusually bad!" Kirito commented as he quickly equipped the Double Driver and ended the call. **"Joker" "Cyclone"** "Henshin!" yelled Kirito as his body transformed into Kamen Rider W.

 _*Pang*_

Unexpectedly, the garbage bin came off from Hiro when he transforms again, falling off the platform. Hearing the sound makes Ayumu grinned wide and cheerfully rushed to where her unconscious big brother was. "It came off!" she shouted happily that the treatment with vinegar worked well. "No way… Unbelievable…" muttered Sinon in disbelief.

* * *

At the water's edge…

Tooth bullets suddenly emerged from one spot of the water, hitting the ground nearby the VIPs and surprised them. Aware that the VIPs are being attacked again, the bodyguards gathered around the two to be their shields. One of them got hit on the shoulder, which made him leave a spot open. Then, Cyclone Joker came and block some of the bullets. "Hurry up and run!" Kirito ordered them, which the group abided and evacuate.

"We know the enemy's location! This time we can do it, right, Hiro?" Kirito asked as he ran towards on the edge, approaching the spot he believed the bullets came from. "No problem" Hiro answered confidently. "All right! I can fire all I want!" Kirito said as he took out the Trigger Memory to swap with Joker. **"Trigger" "Cyclone Trigger"** W's left side turned blue and had a magnum gun called Trigger Magnum on the chest. Cyclone Trigger take the magnum and shoot rapid fast windy bullets towards the spot where the tooth bullets came from.

One of the wind bullets, hit something, which forced a creature to be sent flying out from the water. It is indeed an Anomalocaris that can stand on two legs like a human or to be accurate, Anomalocaris Dopant. The said shrimp monster came into the land because the windy bullet caused a turbulent flow on the water, forcing any objects nearby to be thrown out. "So, you finally came out, you shrimp-monster!" Kirito growled, glaring towards the Dopant.

Anomalocaris noticed the Kamen Rider and started spitting teeth at him. Cyclone Trigger immediately fired the magnum at the shrimp-looking Dopant, which managed to block some of them. Furthermore, Anomalocaris got hit by some of them and fell onto the floor. The shrimp-looking Dopant then gets up before crouching. While doing this, Anomalocaris started emitting dark gas from its body to block Kamen Rider's eyesight. It was attempting to escape.

"Don't think about it!" Kirito barked. Cyclone Trigger took out the Stag Phone and insert Heat Memory into it. **"Heat. Maximum Drive"** the bicoloured Kamen Rider lobbed it as the Memory Gadget turn into its Live Mode while engulfed in flames. The fiery Stag went and hit the shrimp-looking Dopant rapidly, interrupting its attempt to emit dark gas.

While Anomalocaris was interrupted, the bicoloured Kamen Rider uses this chance to change back to Cyclone Joker and puts the Joker Memory into the Maximum Slot. **"Joker. Maximum Drive"**

Cyclone Joker slowly floats to the air with the wind supporting the Kamen Rider in temporarily staying on the air. The bicoloured Kamen Rider then pressed the button on the Maximum Slot before plunging with both legs pointing towards the shrimp-looking Dopant. "Joker Extreme!" As they yelled and dived for the finishing move, the left and right sides split, with Joker in lead, followed by Cyclone before their kicks met Anomalocaris, triggering an explosion.

The bicoloured Kamen Rider landed just right behind the shrimp-looking Dopant that laid on the ground from their finisher. Cyclone Joker turned to look at Anomalocaris that reverted to human form after its Memory was broken. To their shock, that Dopant they defeated was not Kazuraba Hanzou but his subordinate, Kikuchi Kogoro. "It's not Kazuraba!" Kirito gasped. On the other hand, Hiro had Double crouch to check the broken Memory. However, this Gaia Memory had its motherboard completely exposed.

"Papa!" a familiar girl's voice called out and Cyclone Joker noticed that Mai was running towards him, with her mother in suit. "Mai!" Sadako called out as she chased after her daughter. As this happens, the bicoloured Kamen Rider noticed a shadow, which is another Anomalocaris, hiding in the water that is not too far from where the mother and daughter were. "Don't come!" yelled Kirito as he quickly gets up and changed the right side of Double. They changed from Cyclone Joker to Luna Joker.

As this happens, the shrimp-looking Dopant fired out tooth bullets at the VIPs. Luckily, the yellow-black Kamen Rider quickly had its right arm stretched out and tangled Sadako and Mai before pulling them towards him (Luna Joker), thus saving the two. The mother and daughter were surprised from what happened. The other bodyguards quickly came and take the VIPs to safety.

While at it, Luna Joker noticed the partially submerged Anomalocaris and decided to chase after it. However, the shrimp-looking Dopant immediately dive into the water and escape. The bicoloured Kamen Rider was about to head deeper but Hiro stopped Kirito from doing so because Anomalocaris might have gone beyond their reach. Hence, pursuing it is pointless.

"The defeated Anomalocaris was a decoy! Darn it!" yelled Kirito before he splashed the water in anger. "Where's the real one!?" he barked. "Kirito. It's unwise to fight against an enemy that can move nimbly underwater. In this situation, we should retreat" Hiro suggested.

The black swordsman sighed in disappointment, yet he had to agree with his partner. Anomalocaris is a water creature, meaning that if they go fight it underwater, they would not win within its terrain specialty.

Luna Joker then came back to check Sadako and Mai. However, instead of approaching them, the yellow-black Kamen Rider slowly hide behind a pillar and then undo the transformation, reverting to Kirito.

The said mother and daughter were sitting under the tree while they were guarded by the bodyguards. "It's okay. See? Papa protected us like I said" Mai told her mother.

"Mai…" Sadako muttered in speechlessness from this. She was aware that the Kamen Rider is not her husband, Sakuya because he was dead last year. However, she decided to smile and play along with what Mai said. "You're right…" Sadako agreed. Kirito heard everything because Mai's voice was loud enough for him to hear.

 _"Hayami Mai. Gripping a doll in her hand, she believes her father, Kamen Rider will always come to save her. I've got to tell her the truth. Or else the consequences will be irreversible"_ Kirito told himself in his mind as he approached the VIPs.

The black swordsman then told the two to return home for today because they might be in further danger if they stay outdoor. Sadako then agreed and the VIPs were drove home.

* * *

Two hours later, at Morgan apartment…

Everyone had their lunch and the VIPs are currently resting. Of course, bodyguards are still on duty to look after them. Mai was at the balcony, drawing Kamen Rider on her notebook using crayons. "What do you plan to do from now?" asked Kirito. "Isn't it obvious? Tomorrow, we'll go there again for negotiation. Of course, Mai is coming along" answered Sadako. Hearing this causes the black swordsman to be irritated. After getting almost killed twice, this mother still decides to bring Mai along.

"You're still doing that?! Don't bring her this time! It's too dangerous!" Kirito warned her. "This is for making my dream come true. Mai also understands" Sadako replied. "Understands?" repeated Kirito, somehow his tone becomes higher in volume. "Because she's a child who easily believes adult's lies?! Haven't you realised it by now?! She could die because of you! Don't you know that?! Why don't you act like a parent?!" Kirito reprimanded her.

Of course, the black swordsman did not mean anything nasty to hurt Sadako's feelings. He did that because he cared about Mai. Afterall, Kirito himself had his own children, albeit as Artificial Intelligences, Yui and Strea. He understands what it means to look after them. Back in SAO, even though he and Asuna brought an amnesiac Yui into a high-levelled dungeon, they can fight, and their stats are high, more than enough to protect their eldest AI daughter. In addition, it is because they are playing a game as players. However, Sadako is not any warrior of sort, just an unarmed normal human in real life. Furthermore, they are exposed to dangers by monsters called Dopants, which is the more reason they should try avoiding.

The mother then stood and glared at Kirito. "Regardless what you said, we will not be changing our plans" Sadako declared firmly before she abruptly leaves, with the other guards in suit. "How obstinate… I am trying to tell her the truth. If the time comes where no one can help them, it will be too late" Kirito grumbled. Then he remembered that Mai was still at the balcony and decided to check up on her.

At that time, the little girl was drawing Kamen Rider Double Luna Joker form. "Oh, Kamen Rider" Kirito muttered, which the girl in front of him noticed as he crouches. "Oh, Oji-san. Papa sure changes into a lot of colours, doesn't he? I wonder why?" asked Mai as she showed her notebook.

The black swordsman noticed that she had drawn and coloured drawings of Double's Cyclone Metal and Cyclone Trigger forms along with the recent one, Luna Joker. "Colours? You mean he changed the colour of each sides?" Kirito asked again with some paraphrasing and specifying the little girl's question.

"You're Papa's acquaintance, right? You know, right?" Mai asked eagerly. The black swordsman was silent for a while. He was worried about giving away too much information. However, he realised that Mai was still a kid and innocent so there is nothing wrong with telling her about Double, at least just the vague ones. "Oh… It seems his powers changes when he changes colour. He has one more colour I think… It was red" Kirito answered.

"Really?!" Mai gasped in awe, surprised that the Kamen Rider had red colour too. "Yeah!" Kirito replied and soon realised that he needs to ask her something. "More importantly, why do you think Kamen Rider is your Papa?" he asked. The little girl then took out something from her handbag and show it to Kirito. It was her knight doll. "Because Mama gave me this. She said it's a protective charm from Papa" Mai explained. "When Papa disappeared, I felt so scared and sad. I cried every day. But then, Mama come and give me this. ' _Papa's face was scarred so he wears a mask. Papa has become a masked knight who protects the peace of Amanohara. If you hold this and pray, Papa will surely come to save you. He'll definitely protect Mai'_ is what Mama said. I believed in this and always join Mama in her work. Then he really came! I felt so happy!" she happily told this to Kirito.

The black swordsman was speechless from hearing what Mai told him. He could imagine Sadako came to her daughter when she was crying in bed. Her mother gave this doll along with the message that Mai herself heard. Even though the Kamen Rider was not really her father, seeing Double coming to save her gave her hope and happiness, even if it is a lie. This is what Kirito thought in his mind.

"I see" Kirito replied with understandable nods before he stood up and walk to the railing. _"The lie happened to save her heart. If I tell the truth, this girl will… suffer even more than not knowing it"_ the black swordsman thought as he stared at Mai.

* * *

That night…

Kirito contacted Hiro and explained his concern about Mai along with his decision. The bluenette was at the main office, with Sinon and Ayumu in the middle of serving some late-night snacks.

"Hey, hey. Are you serious? You want to play along with the lie for Mai-chan's sake?" asked Hiro worriedly. "Is there a problem?" Kirito asked back. "It's not like I don't comprehend your intention but are you that resolved to do this? More importantly, how long do you think that lie will last for her? A day? A year? What do you think?" Hiro asked again. "That…" Kirito muttered stutteringly, stuck on what he wanted to say.

"Listen. This problem is more than meets the eyes. Hiding the truth may bring more pain than revealing it early hand. Once it involves people's lives, you would realise your own foolishness against whom you lied to. I'm sure you face that kind of experience before, isn't it?" Hiro told him.

Upon hearing this, the first thing that comes to Kirito's mind was the guild that he formerly joined in SAO, which is Moonlit Black Cats. Back then, he made one big mistake, which is lying about his true level number from them. Initially, things go out fine and he felt at ease with having such heart-warming atmosphere with the guild members. However, it later turns out for the worst when most of his guildmates sans the leader, were killed because they got ensnared in a high-levelled dungeon, where the spawn monsters were too powerful for them to handle. While Kirito survived, he ended up making the leader commit suicide from revealing the truth about himself.

Recalling all about that makes the black swordsman being silenced and indecisive regarding the matter he was talking with the bluenette. "It can't be helped… If anything happens, I'll do something about it" Hiro told Kirito, which he became confused. "What do you mean?" the black swordsman asked.

"I lay it out bluntly. We'll just play along with the lie for Mai-chan's sake. If anything happens after you returned to your proper timeline, I'll take care of it. So, don't worry about it" Hiro explained. "Partner…" Kirito muttered heartfully, thankful that the bluenette would go this far to help. Somehow, he felt a little easeful now.

"Anyway, how was it on your side, I mean about the user that we defeated today?" Hiro asked about the investigation. "Oh, seems like the defeated Anomalocaris was Kazuraba's subordinate. But Kazuraba himself said he doesn't know anything about what his subordinate was doing, so we have no proof" explained Kirito.

"That's the limit of police investigation. Do you remember the Memory used by Kazuraba's subordinate?" asked Hiro. "Yeah. I think its inside, the circuit board was exposed" Kirito answered, remembering what he saw after defeating the decoy Anomalocaris.

"That was a Gaia Memory before it was completed. A test product. From the testament from past criminals that bought Gaia Memories, they mentioned that the merchants don't and never sell test products to customers. Meaning…" Hiro explained before leaving a trail. "Kazuraba is connected to the Gaia Memory Dealers?" guessed Kirito, surprised to figure out this deduction.

"That's right. Otherwise, there's no way customers can get their hands-on test-products" Hiro confirmed it. "More importantly, be sure to keep an eye on those mother and daughter. Since we thwarted the assassination attempt, they'll get desperate. There's no telling what they would do after this" he reminded. "Okay. If anything happens, I'll contact right away" Kirito said before he ended the call. _"Still, I can't believe Hiro would say that. How long does he plan to keep that secret from Ayumu?"_ the black swordsman thought.

* * *

 **7th July 2060, Wednesday**

Around 9.00 AM, at Kazuraba land, where a small building was located had a secret. There is a secret factory responsible for producing Gaia Memories hidden underground. Hermione and her husband pay a visit to the land owner as well as the manager of this factory. Junnosuke opened the door to the operation room and decided to peek. He saw a few staffs, wearing protective suits walking around carrying Memories. To be specific, he was interested to see how this factory operates to mass-produce Gaia Memories of various kinds. After feeling satisfied, he decides to close the door as in not to disturb any of the workers.

"This is a Gaia Memory factory? It's my first time seeing one" said Junnosuke as he and his wife walk up the stairs. There, Kazuraba Hanzou, wearing a white suit and sunglasses is waiting for the two, with a table in front of him. On the table there are three Gaia Memories, which are Anomalocaris, Ear and Injury. "President. I'm sorry. Next time, I'll get her for sure" Hanzou apologised politely, unlike yesterday where only Junnosuke came. The reason for that was because he is under Hermione's supervision and plus this woman is strict.

"Do not forget, Kazuraba. Your Memory is merely on loan to you from Geo for final refinement. It's just a subcontract" Hermione reminded as she takes one of the memories, which is Injury Memory. Her subordinate just kept quiet and nodded understandably, knowing how strict she was. "There's plenty of replacements for a factory with this size. That goes for you too" she said out bluntly.

The land owner was shocked to hear this statement. No doubt that Hermione was planning on dismissing him from the subcontract for his failure. "Um…I'll change the plans. This time, you…!" Hanzou takes off his glasses and stated before pointing his hand at Junnosuke. Hermione's husband just glared in response instead due to how rude the way this land owner requested for help. Hanzou realised what he was doing and stopped. "I would like your husband's help" he requested properly and politely, which made Hermione's husband smirked.

"So, I'm finally up?" muttered Junnosuke as he approached the land owner. "I'd like to have your husband to take care of that Kamen Rider halving guy" explained Hanzou. Hearing the term _'Kamen Rider halving'_ caught Hermione's curiosity. "Very well. I've had a previous interest in him" Junnosuke approved the request. The said man then took out the Memory Driver and equipped it to his waist before bringing out his Nasca Memory. **"Nasca"**

 **"Anomalocaris"** As for Hanzou, he picked the Anomalocaris Memory and raised both hands, where his Living Connector was on his left palm. Afterwards, the two men inserted their respective Gaia Memories into its respective slot, transforming them into Dopants. Junnosuke becomes Nasca Dopant while Hanzou becomes Anomalocaris Dopant.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Amanohara City…

At a small district, there is a moving ramen cart called Windy Ramen. Currently, the master was serving two of his customers their ordered ramen. Those two customers are Uncle Magic and Rhythm, Hiro's informants.

"Itadakimasu!" Rhythm prayed before he lifted the big Naruto on his ramen and started taking a dip. The enjoyed look that form on his face afterwards is a sign that the said noodle was delicious. "Delicious!" Rhythm yelled in delight.

As for Uncle Magic, he has not taken any dip yet into his food. The reason for that was because there are bamboo shoots in Ramen and he did not like that. Hence, the solution for that would be giving that to the person next to him instead of wasting the food.

"Happy Meal! A present for you" Uncle Magic said as he picked the bamboo shoots using his chopsticks before he chanted it a bit and put them into Rhythm's bowl. The customer next to the magician noticed this. "Uncle Magic, you don't like bamboo shoots?" asked Rhythm.

"Yeah. In exchange, let me have the barbecue meat" answered Uncle Magic as he uses his chopstick to take the meat from Rhythm's bowl and put it into his own. The break dancer was so surprised and exasperated to learn that the magician was aiming to take his meat.

"No way in hell, you jerk!" Rhythm barked. "Oh, don't mind. Don't mind" Uncle Magic said carefreely. "Oh, I do mind! Don't take my meat!" Rhythm retorted and started bickering with the magician. However, before they could continue, Ayumu suddenly appeared behind the two and yelled out loud, which got the informants attention and they stopped arguing.

"Whatever. Just properly continue the discussion, info dealer" Hiro's little sister ordered, glancing to Rhythm. "Oh. Like I said, I think there's something on Kazuraba's land. It seems you can hear the low rumblings of machines at night. Plus, apparently you hear it coming from the ground" explained Rhythm using the Naruto on his ramen bowl as part of his demonstration.

"Underground? What a mystery! Truly an urban legend!" Ayumu proclaimed. "Thanks for the various info. All right. Today will be my treat then!" she informed the informants, which made them delighted. "Thank you!" the two info dealers thanked and started digging into their ramen greedily.

As for Ayumu, she went to call her brother and then informed him about the information she got. Hiro was with Sinon in the garage at that time when the call takes place. "That's it for the chief's report" Ayumu reported after telling her brother then information before ending the call. "Thank you" Hiro thanked before doing the same as well. Afterwards, when Ayumu went to check on the informants to pay for their meals, she was so shocked that she yelled upon seeing that the two informants had in fact, took 10 bowls each. She becomes so speechless that she fainted.

As for Hiro, he got an idea what the obtained info means based on the situation they are facing. "What did Ayumu got?" asked Sinon. "Based on what I heard, there's only one possible explanation. Apparently, there is a special facility taking place under Kazuraba's land. That is why the Second Amanohara Tower would interfere" Hiro told her. "A special facility? What kind?" asked Sinon curiously.

"Well, in this city, there's one thing that is more dangerous than guns and drugs" Hiro pointed out a clue, which the Beauty Sniper realised what he was trying to imply. "Gaia Memories!" gasped Sinon upon the realisation. "It can't be… that special facility is a Gaia Memory factory?" she guessed.

"That possibility is high and if it does, everything make sense. The sniping attacks that aimed to take Councilwoman Hayami was to prevent from their Gaia Memories business getting interrupted. If that land was taken over, it will give a huge impact to their production and selling goals" Hiro deduced.

"Furthermore, the public would be aware that Kazuraba was one of the co-conspirators with that Gaia Memories Organisation and the police would halt the Gaia Memory production activities" Sinon added.

"No… I don't think that's a problem for them. After all, whenever polices received info about a factory or any facility was suspected with producing and smuggling Gaia Memories, the stated places were immediately detonated and there is no trace of evidence left behind. Though, there are evidences of several burned corpses located in the scene, but it's hard to tell who exactly met their demise" Hiro told her.

"In other words, they won't hesitate to kill people if it means to prevent the police from getting into them. That's horrible" Sinon commented. "In any case, I'm going to a bit more lookup. Sinon-san. Can you go fetch Ayumu for me?" Hiro requested. "Okay" Sinon agreed before she left the Agency. As for the bluenette, he went down to where Hard-Boilder with his blank book and rested against one of the pillars before he went into the Planetary Bookshelves.

Upon reaching there, Hiro started wondering around, thinking about what he wanted to lookup for. "All right. I should read up on Hayami Sakuya" he said upon remembering about Kirito wanted to keep up the lie for Mai. Hence, the bluenette inputted to find out about that specific person, which the keyword was Hayami Sakuya.

The said book, with the title itself is the name of that person came to Hiro before he picks it up. The bluenette then started flipping the book and learn various things. Of course, that also includes how that person looks like, which happened to display a photo of Hayami Sakuya. The said man had brown eyes and grey hair. Most of the time, he wore a grey suit when going to work. Then one of the facts showed something about Sakuya's habit.

Every day, when his wife and daughter see him off to and came back from work, Mai always ask Sakuya to give her usual greeting or leaving. That usual greeting involves having her father stroking her head a few times before patting gently with the same amounts. The bluenette upon realising this started to look at his hand before trying to imitate the habit out of curiosity.

* * *

Elsewhere, at the rooftop of Morgan Apartment…

Kirito was sitting on the wooden floor made of planks as he waited for a certain someone. Then Mai came and sit next to him. Apparently, the black swordsman called her to have a talk. "What's wrong, Oji-san? Is there anything you need from me?" asked Mai.

"The truth we need to talk…" Kirito answered. "Is it about Papa?" guessed Mai. There was a short silence and then the black swordsman gave a nod. "That's right" Kirito confirmed before looking to where Mai was. "You… need to know the truth" he said. "Listen. Stay calm and listen"

Mai nodded agreeably, wondering what this important thing about her father was that Oji-san (Kirito) knew. "To be honest… Your Papa is actually…" the black swordsman trailed before he suddenly paused. He become at lost of words. Although he knew what he wanted to say, the word did not come out from his own lips. He wanted to tell Mai that her father had passed away last year. Yet, out of impulse, Kirito ended up saying this, "A Kamen Rider"

Mai ended up grinning excitedly upon hearing this. "I just remember" Kirito said as he gets up and face Sadako's daughter from the front before holding onto both her arms. "I'm sure he's Kamen Rider. He said he had a cute daughter" the black swordsman stated.

"Right? That's why I said so!" Mai pointed out. "Yeah! That's right!" Kirito replied agreeably before he excuses himself for a bit to hide behind a pillar. To be blunt, he was so embarrassed because he ended up telling a lie again on a whim. "What am I saying?" he sighed worriedly, feeling bad for lying to Mai.

Though before the black swordsman could remorse further, a tentacle suddenly came out of nowhere from below the building and grabbed Mai by surprised. The little girl then noticed it was Anomalocaris and she became scared.

"Oji-san!" Upon hearing her scream, the black swordsman was surprised to see what is going on plus angry that the culprit was trying to abduct Mai. "Save me!" she yelled. "You rotten!" growled Kirito as he began charging in to save Mai. However, the shrimp-looking Dopant started spitting teeth, which the black swordsman was forced to run around to avoid them. To make things worse, there is not much space to move around and Kirito got cornered. Though, instead of killing Kirito directly with its teeth, Anomalocaris shoots the surrounding nearby the black swordsman. This in turns knocked Kirito off the pillar and fell from height. However, the black swordsman managed to shoot out a transmitter badge onto Mai's shirt.

"Oji-san! Oji-san!" As for the little girl, she was horrified to see someone fell off the building that she started calling out to the black swordsman, worrying he could die. While Mai was so overwhelmed about what happened, Anomalocaris took her away as he leaves the building.

 **"Spider"** Kirito manages to insert the yellow Pseudo Memory into his watch Memory Gadget. Spider Shock then launches itself into the air as high as it can with threads following suit. Luckily, the yellow Memory Gadget managed to grab onto the wire rope and halted the black swordsman falling time barely before he could fall from death due to high impulsive force. Thanks to that, the distance between his current position and the ground is safe for him to jump even though he is still hanging.

Upon being safe, the black swordsman started gasping for air out of fear and then sighed in relief that he was still alive. Afterwards, he presses the release button on his gadget and safely landed onto the ground. "Hiro!" Kirito yelled as he takes out the Double Driver and equipped to his waist.

As for Hiro, he was on standby while reading through his blank book. Then he noticed the belt appeared on his waist as well. "There it is" Hiro mumbled as he put away his book and took out the Cyclone Memory before standing up. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" the two boys yelled and initiated the transformation. **"Cyclone Joker"** Kirito transformed into Kamen Rider Double while Hiro's body fell unconscious as his mind rides with the black swordsman.

Cyclone Joker then started running to pursue Anomalocaris. However, just a while after he began doing so, a few blue energy blasts came out of the sky, hitting the ground nearby the Kamen Rider and forced him to back off before falling. Cyclone Joker then try to find out the source and noticed the person responsible for attacking him.

It was none other than Nasca Dopant or Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth. The said enemy Commander was standing on the roof that is not too far from where the Kamen Rider was. "Yo, Kamen Rider-kun" Nasca greeted with a bow. "What?" Kirito gasped as he gets up, somehow anxious to see this new enemy.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Morgan Apartment…

Sadako, with her bodyguards in suit was on their way to go out and she was about to fetch her daughter from her home. "Mai, we're going out" Sadako said as she knocked onto the door to her home before opening it. She looks around and Mai was nowhere to be seen. "Mai?" she called out before closing the door, wondering where her daughter went. Suddenly, she heard a familiar message notification tone from her phone. Sadako informed her bodyguards that she needs to excuse herself for a bit to read her phone message. Upon getting a bit of privacy and checking the received message, she becomes greatly horrified. It was from Kazuraba Hanzou and the message was written as below:

 _I am playing with your daughter is what I would like to say. I am planning to kill her. If you want to save her come to the abandoned factory on District 5 alone and no one else must know about this. If you don't abide this, your daughter's live will perished. He, he, he, see you soon._

* * *

Back to where the bicoloured Kamen Rider was…

Nasca leaped from the roof and land at the ground near Cyclone Joker. The bicoloured Kamen Rider flicked his left hand before standing up, readying to fight. "Ever since I laid eyes upon you, I've been thinking about you" said Nasca. "Oh, are you by chance a secret admirer of me? If you want my autograph, I'll have to put that on hold, I'm a bit busy right now" Kirito told him, of course with some sarcasm. "That I cannot do. I'm a very persistent admirer so leaving isn't an option" Nasca retorted. "More importantly I'd like to try splitting you in half, that is!" he declared before wiping his sword.

Afterwards, the light-blue Dopant started charging towards Double, attempting to slice the Kamen Rider. Cyclone Joker then began evading every of his attack and then countered with kicks, which Nasca was able to avoid all of them. Then, the light-blue Dopant makes its move again, swinging his sword at Double, who backs off a few times and uses this chance to change form. **"Heat Metal"**

The bicoloured Kamen Rider now becomes Red-Silver form, which had a Metal Shaft as the weapon. When transforming into this form, the Kamen Rider turn his back onto his opponent, which the attack was blocked by the staff. Heat Metal then started swinging the Metal Shaft at his opponent and they locked weapons a few times before the red-silver Kamen Rider managed to land a hit on Nasca's stomach, forcing him to back off.

Kirito was about to attack again but Hiro stopped him when he noticed something peculiar about Nasca. "Kirito, he's wearing a Memory Driver! He's a commander in the organisation!" the bluenette warned and the black swordsman also noticed this as well because of the belt Nasca worn. Then, he remembered what Hiro said about these kinds of Dopants that their strength is on different level compared to Dopants that inserted their Gaia Memories into their skin.

In addition, the black swordsman also realised he cannot waste time against this kind of opponent because he was in a hurry. "We'll have to finish this quick or Mai will…!" Kirito said desperately. "Please disappear from my city!" Nasca ordered as he pointed his sword at Double before spreading wings from his back and ascended. The black swordsman can tell that the light-blue Dopant is trying to do a diving slash. "Hiro, can you let me handle this?" Kirito requested with a desperate tone. "I got a bad feeling about this. Oh well. It's all yours" Hiro murmured, approved his partner's request.

When Nasca launches his attack, Heat Metal blocked it with the Metal Shaft before punching his face with a fiery fist and halted his movement. "This city doesn't belong to you guys!" yelled Kirito. Then, he quickly changed the left side of Double to Trigger. **"Heat Trigger"**

Upon assuming the form change, the red-blue Kamen Rider backs off a bit from Nasca before aiming the Trigger Magnum directly to his stomach. The light blue Dopant was terrified from this but before he could make any move, Heat Trigger started firing the magnum rapidly until both got caught in an explosion.

In its aftermath, only the red-blue Kamen Rider remained but in very exhausted state as he was having trouble to walk normally. Nasca is nowhere to be found, indicating that he had escaped. "Suicide attack. I should have known…Argh!" Hiro muttered and yelped regrettably before the transformation was forcibly undone. "Hiro?!" gasped Kirito horribly from this and become worried. He quickly took out his phone and contacted Hiro.

Back at the garage, Hiro's Stag Phone was ringing yet the owner himself was in a comatose state. The reason for that was because the suicide attack which Kirito instigated affected Hiro's mind quite a lot. Luckily, Ayumu and Sinon had just returned and noticed this happening. The two then approached the unconscious bluenette, with Sinon taking the phone and answered the call.

"Hello? Kirito? No, it's me. Hiro?" Sinon talked to Kirito and the black swordsman was wondering how Hiro is doing. While the Beauty Sniper was talking on the phone, Ayumu shook the bluenette's arm a few times to wake him up, yet he was still unconscious. "He's still unconscious" Sinon informed him.

"He might have taken damage from me being too wild. Sinon. Take care of him" Kirito said while breathing heavily. It seems he also suffered from that suicide attack, physically of course. The black swordsman then ended the call, which made the girls worried since he does not explain what exactly is going on.

Afterwards, Kirito activates the tracking function of Spider Shock, which in turn made the transmitter badge on Mai's cloth to be activated. The transmitter then gives the information of where the little girl was. Despite being tired, Kirito uses all his might to go.

Simultaneously, somewhere not to far from the battle venue before…

Junnosuke was resting behind a pillar, wrenching in pain from Kamen Rider's suicide attack. It seems this commander was rather frustrated that he got defeated by such counterattack. "Me beaten by such a lowly counterattack?! It can't be (Baka Na)!" Junnosuke grumbled and punched the ground. Then he realised that only idiots would do such method. "Wait. Is he an idiot (Baka)?" the male commander muttered before chuckling amusingly. "It's because he's an idiot that happened…"

10 minutes later…

It has been a while since Kirito started running, or at least he was, in an exhausted state. He did have a few rests back and forth but very brief, mainly because he was worried about Mai's well-being.

Back at the garage, Sinon and Ayumu could not help but feel worried about the black swordsman. According to the Beauty Sniper, she heard Kirito was having difficulty breathing throughout the phone call. Furthermore, he seems quite worried and desperate.

"Why did Kirito-kun is getting desperate? Did something happen?" Ayumu wondered. "Probably. If I were to guess, maybe Mai-chan was abducted by Kazuraba and he's luring Councilwoman Hayami into a trap" deduced Sinon.

"This is bad! We need to wake up Onii-chan!" Ayumu cried worriedly. "But how? He's still unconscious even though we tried to wake him up" Sinon pointed out. The two girls started to think a method to make Hiro regain consciousness. As they think, an idea came to Ayumu's mind.

The bluenette's little sister then went to fetch the bottle of vinegar and pour some of it into a glass. "Hey, you can't be serious?" asked Sinon worriedly. "We can't be picky in an emergency!" Ayumu said as she went to her big brother with the filled glass. The little sister forced the unconscious bluenette to swallow the vinegar. To Sinon's surprise, Hiro immediately woke up from his coma due to the disgustingly sour of that acetic acid liquid. He coughed and spilled some of it onto his mouth when he regained his consciousness. "Are you okay, Hiro?" Sinon asked worriedly as she hands in a handkerchief. "Yes… somehow" Hiro answered, taking the said item from the Beauty Sniper and wipe his mouth of the spilled vinegar. Excited that her brother regained consciousness, Ayumu immediately contacted Kirito with Hiro's phone. At that time, the black swordsman is still running while his destination is quite far. "What's wrong?" Kirito asked while breathing heavily. "Onii-chan is ready to go!" Ayumu declared excitedly, which her brother had to salute that his little sister is quite something.

* * *

A while earlier…

While Kirito was running to rescue Mai, Sadako had just arrived at the location mentioned in her phone message, on foot. The councilwoman entered the abandoned factory and unknowingly stepped onto an elevator, which suddenly shuts the door and started descending.

Upon reaching the basement, Sadako started looking around, wondering where her daughter was throughout the floor with pipeline network. Then she heard a ball bouncing quite loudly on the floor, which got her attention. The mother noticed someone familiar. It was Sadako's daughter, Mai and she was tied to a pillar. The hostage was not alone. Nearby the little girl was none other than an impatient Kazuraba Hanzou, who kept slamming a small red ball onto the ground repeatedly as it bounced back to him. The reason the ball came back to him was because it was tied with a string, which was connected to the wristband that he wore.

"Mai! Mai!" Sadako shouted as she rushed towards where her daughter was. "Mama!" Mai called back to her mother. However, Hanzou intercepted the Councilwoman by slamming the ball nearby, causing her to halt. "Kazuraba-san! You're the one that's after my life, right?!" cried Sadako. "Hayami-san. Your daughter didn't smile at all" said Hanzou. The councilwoman tried to approach her daughter, but the land owner slammed the ball in front of her to prevent that. "Looks like our interest don't match" deduced Hanzou as he takes off the wristband and throw it away on a tantrum. Afterwards, he takes out the Anomalocaris Memory. "But… I'm sure this will work" Hanzou said, lifting up his left hand that has the Living Connector tattoo. **"Anomalocaris"**

The land owner inserted the said Gaia Memory and he transformed into the shrimp-looking Dopant. The mother and daughter were greatly horrified to see this, with Mai gripping tight on her knight doll, praying for her father to come and save them. Anomalocaris untie Mai and held her as hostage.

"Anyone who touch my land, everyone all have to disappear!" Hanzou proclaimed angrily. Sadako was brought to tears from hearing this. She does not care if she cannot buy the land but all she wants is Mai to be safe. "Stop it! I'm your target, right?! Leave Mai alone!" Sadako pleaded as she tried to free her daughter, but the shrimp-looking Dopant shoved her away. "Mama! It's a lie, right?" asked Mai worriedly. She was very terrified about what just happened and did not wish to die. However, her mother was unable to answer that question. In the very least, she knew it is not a lie that they are in danger. What makes it worse, she came alone with no one else nearby to save them.

Anomalocaris chuckled wickedly from seeing how hopeless the situation was for the Hayami family. "Let your family reunite in the next world!" Hanzou declared as he stretched out his tentacle to kill Sadako. Luckily, Cyclone Joker came right on time and managed to push her away from the attack as far as possible. The shrimp-looking Dopant was shocked to know this. After all, there is no one else that is aware about what he was trying to do in that place yet Kamen Rider Double somehow knew about this. As for Mai, she was glad to see her so called Papa came to the rescue. "Papa!" the little girl called out in relief. Even Sadako was surprised that Kamen Rider came to their rescue despite no one else knew what is going on. "Darn you!" Hanzou growled as he started to send his tentacle towards the Cyclone Joker.

 **"Trigger" "Cyclone Trigger"** Kamen Rider Double immediately changed the left side and used the magnum to shoot the incoming tentacle, forcing it to return to its user. "Wait!" Hanzou yelled as he lifted Mai, threatening the Kamen Rider that he will kill her. "Don't move! Drop your gun! If you don't, this girl will die!"

Cyclone Trigger did not even flinch from the declared threat and still had the magnum pointing towards the shrimp-looking Dopant. "Hurry up and drop it!" barked Hanzou as he continued to choke Mai into a headlock.

Sadako was worried that she was speechless to even ask Kamen Rider Double to obey the demand. To her, she wanted her daughter back safe and sound. "You believe in Papa, right, Mai?" Kirito asked, which Mai gripped her knight doll tight and nodded. "Why you!" snarled Hanzou as he loses patience and decides to kill his hostage.

 **"Luna Trigger"** The bicoloured Kamen Rider quickly changed his right side and then fired a few yellow beams from the magnum. The said beams then run straight forward and almost hit Mai, except that does not happen. Instead the first one hit Anomalocaris, on the face due to Luna's ability in homing its gunshot. The shrimp-looking Dopant was forced to release his hostage as the other beams hit him again. Luna Trigger quickly rushed and somehow managed to grab Mai from getting hurt of falling.

"The beam curved! Darn it!" Hanzou whined as he gets up and realised the illogical thing that happened, which are gunshots having homing ability. The shrimp-looking Dopant then decides to flee.

As for Sadako, she quickly rushed to where her daughter was and embraced her out of worry. "Mai!" she called out worriedly while glad that Mai was unharmed. Luna Trigger hands the girl over to Sadako and then realised that Anomalocaris is getting away. Even without having to aim properly, Kamen Rider Double fired a few more shots, which curved through all the obstacles and hit the shrimp-looking Dopant, knocking him down.

"Mai! Mai!" Sadako cried worriedly as she embraced her daughter tight. Luna Trigger gave the Councilwoman an assuring pat on her shoulder before he decides to go after the enemy. "Mama, look. Papa saved me after all" Mai told her mother, who was in fact gravely concerned about her daughter to notice the surrounding event.

As for Kamen Rider, he chased after the shrimp-looking Dopant while repelling him with the homing beams. Anomalocaris was forced to exit the vicinity and cornered by the pier outside the abandoned factory.

After being tortured and forced to retreat by the homing gunshots, the shrimp-looking Dopant then suddenly turned into a giant Anomalocaris. Luna Trigger continued to shoot but it does not work. The giant Anomalocaris jumped and grabbed the yellow-blue Kamen Rider with its mouth. Luna Trigger struggled to break free, but the giant shrimp drag him into the water.

The giant Anomalocaris attempted to devour the Kamen Rider as it took him into a dolphin like ride, jumping from one spot to another a few times before sinking. "Hiro! Hard-Splasher!" Kirito yelled. "It's on the way" Hiro informed as he lifted Double's right hand that is holding the Stag Phone. The bluenette did this when they were thrown into the sea with the giant Anomalocaris.

At that time of the summoning, Sinon and Ayumu were unfortunate that they got dragged along for the ride when RevolGarry was deployed at Mach speed, against their will. The girls were too scared that they tried to grab onto anything except the motorcycle front part, to prevent themselves from falling. "What's going on?!" cried Sinon. "We got sent out too. I didn't hear anything about this!" whined Ayumu.

While they were bother complaining, the front part of the motorcycle attached itself with the yellow rear, which in the form of a hovercraft. The two girls were surprised to see the formation of Hard-Splasher happening right in front of them. Soon, before they knew it, RevolGarry opened its hatch while still moving at Mach speed.

By that time, the giant vehicle was on the bridge, coming to help the captured Kamen Rider. While trying to balance themselves from falling, Hard-Splasher ascends and went to where Luna Trigger was.

(Play song: _Cyclone Effect_ by _Labour Day_ , starting from chorus)

The said hovercraft vehicle rammed onto the giant Anomalocaris, forcing it to release Luna Trigger. The bicoloured Kamen Rider managed to land on the riding vehicle that fetched him. Afterwards, Kirito manoeuvre Hard-Splasher into charging towards the incoming giant shrimp while releasing missiles at it.

The shots all missed and the giant Anomalocaris started leaping from the water once again. The giant shrimp noticed a buoyant platform and then lobbed it with all its might from underwater towards Luna Trigger. The said obstacle apparently crashed the Kamen Rider. However, Kirito had Hard-Splasher dove underwater to avoid it before changing the control to autopilot. Luna Trigger brings out the Trigger Magnum and inserted Trigger Memory into it. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"** The yellow-blue Kamen Rider shifted the magnum into Maximum Mode before Hard-Splasher leaped out from the water.

On the surface, the giant Anomalocaris was searching Luna Trigger before it realised him coming from behind, with Hard-Splasher floating in the air. "Now, count up your sins! This will clinch it!" Kirito and Hiro declared while pointing the charging magnum towards the giant shrimp.

"Trigger Full Burst!" Multiple energy shots were then fired from the barrel to all directions while homing towards the giant Anomalocaris. Even though the giant shrimp managed to block a few with his bullets, the shots does not stop coming and managed to hit him, triggering an explosion.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Dial Corporation…

In the CEO Office, Hermione received a call from her father, who complained that her subordinate, Kazuraba Hanzou had failed his mission. "Yes. Father. I deeply apologised for my subordinates' failures. Yes, I'm calling off the contract with Kazuraba's factory. Yes." Hermione informed her father before ending the call angrily. "Sloppy fools! All of them! Every one of them!" she grumbled. Afterwards, she remotely activated the self-destruct command on Kazuraba's factory, which in turn exploded soon, leaving no shred of evidence behind.

* * *

Back to where Kamen Rider was…

Luna Trigger rescued the criminal, Kazuraba Hanzou from drowning in the water. The said man was completely drenched while holding his now broken Gaia Memory. He was still alive but because of being attacked with a Memory Break finisher and soaked underwater, Hanzou just lost consciousness. Of course, Hiro contacted the police to come and arrest the criminal, which buzzing sirens can be heard approaching. Believing their job is done, Luna Trigger is about to leave until…

"Papa! Don't go!" a familiar young girl's voice called out and pleaded. The yellow-blue Kamen Rider turned and saw Mai running towards him, with her mother following her. Sadako somehow managed to catch up and stop her daughter from going after Luna Trigger. Mai then look at her mother, who seems to have something important to say for her. "Mai. Let Papa go" Sadako said before she crouches to Mai's left side. "Papa needs to protect not just you, Mai but everyone in Amanohara as well. Okay?"

The little girl somehow felt sad from hearing this. After all, she managed to see her father, even without knowing that Kamen Rider Double was not Hayami Sakuya. Reluctant to part away yet had to, Mai look at her mother. "Mama. I understand" she told Sadako, who smiles in return. Then Mai approached Luna Trigger before she bows her head a bit. She wants her usual greeting that her father always does for her.

Kirito, however was unaware about it and confused with what Mai was doing, glanced to Sadako and then back to Mai herself. "What?" he muttered while puzzled. Then, Mai noticed that Luna Trigger was not doing so, wondering what is going on. "Papa, did you forget? The usual greeting" Mai told him.

 _"Oh, no! I made it so far too! What should I do?!"_ Kirito thought in panicked. _"Hahaha, just like I thought. This is what happens when you said a white lie, Kirito"_ Hiro chuckled as he contacted his partner through telepathy. _"Don't say that! I didn't really mean any malice…"_ whined Kirito. _"Fine, I'll take over. Watch"_ Hiro volunteered.

Then, taking over for Kirito, Hiro uses Luna Trigger's right hand. Kirito himself was puzzled about what his partner was trying to pull off, but he decides to let him do it since he does not know what to do. While recalling the habits that the bluenette lookup earlier, he began stroking Mai's head a few times before gently patting on her with similar amounts. Mai then smiled from receiving her usual greetings.

Afterwards, Luna Trigger went to ride Hard-Splasher, with Sadako and Mai seeing him off. "Papa…" Mai lamented, somehow could not bear to see her father leave. Kirito wanted to say something for Mai, but Hiro told him not to, because it might leave unnecessary misunderstanding for that girl. The black swordsman then just decides to wave at Mai, who will shedding tears waved back at him before he takes his leave with Hard-Splasher.

* * *

 **8th July 2060, Thursday**

At Asaka Detective Agency, Kirito was doing the report while Hiro was doing a full lookup on vinegars. Sinon and Ayumu are there as well, doing some accounting to see how the business progresses. _"After that incident, Hayami Sadako stepped down from the council. The second Amanohara Tower project was indefinitely postponed. But, I believe that the mother and daughter had gained something anew"_ Kirito pondered while typing on the report.

"Hey, Hiro. Did you look up for her father's habit beforehand?" asked Kirito. "I guess so. Is there a problem with it?" Hiro answered before asking back. "No. Thank you. If you hadn't done that, probably by now Mai would…" thanked Kirito while feeling remorse but his partner interrupted him. "Say no more. Sometimes silence is better than saying something" Hiro told him. "That's right" muttered Kirito in agreement. Then he just realised that there are liquid bottles and glasses filled with some of those liquid on the table where Hiro was. "Come to think of it, what are you doing?" asked Kirito.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm trying to learn everything about vinegar" Hiro answered while testing out some of them. "Oh, Onii-chan. You become addicted to it" Ayumu commented excitedly. "Thanks to you…" Sinon sighed, somehow not comfortable with this. The black swordsman just groaned in exasperation from this. Looks like the bluenette really does have no common sense on doing things.

 _"Someday… soon, Sadako-san will definitely tell her daughter the truth. Until that day come, we cannot betray Mai's dream. This is no doubt another mission that has been entrusted to us. Not just as Kamen Riders, but as human beings"_ Kirito said in his mind before he went to approach his friends.

 **That is all for this chapter. Next one, if follow the main plot would be the incident with Sweets Dopant. However, maybe I would put a short filler beforehand. Oh, even though Yui and Strea wasn't mentioned outside of flashback, they are indirectly involved with the case, which is helping their father in being a proper bodyguard from behind the scenes. In any case, please Rate and Review.**


	5. Baby Shinichi Mama Suguha

**19th July 2060, Monday**

In Amanohara City, the police are chasing after a criminal who was pulling off pranks on the citizens when robbing banks. The prank itself was harmless in nature but it renders people incapacitated to act. The culprit was identified as a man. He had yellow hair and brown eyes. He wore black mask that covers his whole head, except eyes and mouth. As for his clothing, it is consisted of a grey pants and dark blue sweater along with brown shoes. His name is Kubota Hari.

Currently, the criminal was being chased by Officer Nobu and a few other officers in the city after he failed to get away with the money because the police predicted his attack and ambushed him. "Hold it! Kubota! You're under arrest!" Nobu yelled. "No!" shouted Kubota as he makes a turn into the alleyway. "You guys! Split up and corner him from all sides! Don't let him escape!" ordered Nobu before the officers splits up.

As for the criminal, he took out a yellow Gaia Memory. The name of that Memory is Young, which has an embryo connected with umbilical cord that is tied to the uterus, in a Y-shaped letter. **"Young"** Hari inserted the memory onto his forearm, where the Living Connector Tattoo was printed, and he transformed into a Dopant. This Dopant was rather small because the user shrinks into a child around Four or Five years old. It has grey skin, yellow eyes and wore tattered brown shirt and pants with red shoes. There is a sculpture of an infant wrapped with clothes and faceless on his right shoulder, which is rather small for a pad.

The child Dopant continued running until he suddenly found himself surrounded by the officers from all directions. "You're not escaping, Kubo…." declared Nobu before he paused in confusion. Even the other officers were confused too. "A kid?" muttered Nobu. As this happens, Young had a smirk on his face before he pulled out a colourful gun and pointed at Nobu. The child Dopant shoot red beams from his gun and hit all the officers, which paralysed and made them collapse. Young chuckled before he makes a run for it, confident that he was safe. Everything goes fine, and he was about to escape for good from the alleyway upon finding the exit until…

"Hold it!" a male voice yelled, which made the child Dopant stopped his movement. Young looked up and saw a normal civilian blocking the path in front of him. That civilian is none other than Nagata Shinichi or Recon, Suguha's acquaintance. "You're not getting away, Dopant!" declared Recon. "What? Just a brat" snorted Hari. "You're a brat too! Prepared yourself! I'm not going to hold back just because you're small!" proclaimed Recon.

"This is boring… Here, a present" Young grumbled as he brings out his gun and shoot a red beam, directly on Recon. The four-eyes boy was paralysed and collapsed, with his face on the ground. As this happens, Young makes a run for it and flee.

"Recon!" another male voice called out and it belongs to none other than Kirito. The black swordsman had just arrived in the alleyway exit and was looking for Recon. "Recon, that guy… just go after the criminal as he please. If that criminal had a Gaia Memory, there's no telling what will happen" he muttered. The black swordsman passed by the said exit and then stopped before he returns to it because he noticed something familiar. He saw Recon's clothing lying on the ground but did not know what is going on with him. Worried, he rushed towards his unconscious friend. "Recon, are you okay?!" Kirito asked worriedly before trying to touch his body. His eyes widen in surprised when he felt nothing, and most of the clothing became flat. Then he lifts the clothes and saw something unexpected. "This is…!" he gasped and trailed.

* * *

Later in the Agency…

Kirito and Hiro were having panicking as the former holding a baby boy wrapped in a white clothing. The infant was crying so loud that regardless what they try, the two could not calm him down. "Hey, what're we going to do?" Kirito asked worriedly. "This is beyond our control. I never babysit an infant before, so I don't really know how to deal with him" Hiro answered as he flipped through his blank book, looking for a solution.

Then, while the two were discussing, the girls (Ayumu, Asuna, Leafa, Silica, Lisbeth, Sinon) entered the office while covering their ears. "What's going on, Onii-chan? Who's crying this loud?" Ayumu asked. "Oh, Ayumu. Welcome" Hiro greeted. The other girls then found out what is the source of crying, which is an infant boy.

"Eh? A baby?" muttered Asuna. "It looks like a boy" Lisbeth deduced. "How cute!" squealed Silica. "Why is there a baby here?" Leafa asked. "Did a client came and ask to babysit him?" Sinon asked. "Oh, about that. This baby is… Recon" Kirito told them.

There was a beat, with the girls being completely silenced. "EHH?!" the girls yelled, upon realising what Kirito's sentence mean. "This baby is Recon-kun?" deduced Asuna. "What is going on?" Lisbeth asked. "Recon probably got hit by a Dopant's hex. I've done a lookup a while ago and identified it. The name of Memory was Young. One of Young's ability is to revert a lifeform to its previous states. In other words, it's possible to make an old people back into their youths. That also includes being an infant" explained Hiro.

"How do we bring Recon back to his original state?" asked Leafa. "The effect should wear off if we defeat that Dopant, but…" Hiro answered before he paused. "But what?" asked Sinon. "The two of us can't do anything if we have to look after this baby" Kirito answered.

"That's why we need you girls to babysit Recon until then" Hiro concluded. "EH?!" the girls cried in surprised. "We have to take care of Recon-kun?" Ayumu repeated. "I have to pass! I can handle if it is other people but not Recon. I don't want him to be getting the wrong idea" Suguha declared. "Then, how about the rest?" asked Kirito.

"All right. We'll give it a try. Then, come here, Shinichi-kun…" Asuna invited as her boyfriend passed the baby Recon to her. However, the little baby does not sit still and continue crying even when Asuna tried her best to calm him down.

Afterwards, the baby was passed from Asuna to Ayumu, Silica, Sinon and Lisbeth. However, the little Shinichi does not stop crying even though the girls attempted to cheer him. "Hey, Leafa. Can you try? This guy won't stop crying" asked Lisbeth, exasperated that her effort to calm him down was futile.

"No! I told you guys I don't want to…" whined Leafa. "Please, Sugu. At this rate, we're not going anywhere" pleaded Kirito. "But… if he remembers that I was babysitting him…" replied Leafa hesitantly, somehow did not want to do this task.

"The favouritism of who the babies like and recognised is still intact subconsciously even if they become young. But, according to my lookup, infants don't remember much of happen because their brains haven't started developing and functioning much compared to when they grow up as children. Furthermore, infants' memories are being overwritten everyday because they are growing up. In other words, Recon still can recognise who his family members were and the person he likes but he won't remember the events that is happening when he was an infant" explained Hiro. "It should be all right" he assured. "Please, Sugu" begged Kirito.

"Even if that was the case, if it is only me…" Leafa replied, somehow not feeling confident to handle babysitting alone. "Who said that you need to do this alone, Leafa-san? Everyone else is here to help you. You don't have to bear this all alone" Silica pointed out. "Plus, you won't have to do this for a day. Just a few hours at most" Hiro assured her. "Really?" asked Leafa, glad to hear that the task is not going to be dragging for days.

"Yes. I promise. We'll definitely find the culprit and put an end to this today" declared Hiro. Leafa looks at everyone else, who gave a nod of assurance. Glad that she does not have to bear this all alone, Kirito's sister also nodded in return. "All right. I'll do it" she told them.

Then, Kirito's little sister invites baby Recon with open ups, which Lisbeth passed him to her. At that time, the infant did not stopped crying. "What's wrong? Be a good boy, Shinichi…" Leafa ordered him nicely and cheerfully. Then, to everyone's surprise, baby Recon or rather Shinichi indeed stopped crying. Plus, he started smiling and laughing.

"He's stopped crying…" muttered Silica. "Looks like Leafa-chan is the right choice for this" deduced Asuna. "Mama!" baby Recon called out, to everyone's surprise, including Leafa herself. "Mama? Me?!" exclaimed Leafa.

"Oh, I guess he really wants Sugu looking after him. He thinks you as his mother" Kirito commented. Then, he started moving wildly while calling Leafa 'Mama' repeatedly, eager to have something. "What? What do you want, Shinichi?" asked Leafa, wondering what this infant wants. "Breast milk!" Ayumu cried suddenly. "Eh?!" everyone else gasped from this revelation. "I think…" Ayumu guessed. "You're kidding… right?" Leafa asked awkwardly.

"Come to think of it, Recon might have regressed to four months old. Around this age, babies still need breast milk" Hiro assumed. "Then…" trailed Lisbeth before she and everyone else glanced to Kirito's little sister, who seemed rather troubled.

"No way! Absolutely no! I can't produce milk! More importantly, why does it have to be Recon?!" whined Leafa. "Hey, Sugu. Don't be picky. Right now, you're the only one who can look after Recon" Kirito told her. "Don't be ridiculous, Onii-chan! There's no way I'm lactating!" argued Leafa.

"Then, let him suck your big chest, hopefully it would calm him down even if there's no milk" joked Kirito bluntly. Hearing that makes Hiro and the girls became dumbstruck. Of course, for the bluenette, he was scared and had an idea what is going to happen when guys do not know the meaning of being tact when talking with ladies.

"Onii-chan… no BAKA!" yelled Leafa exasperatedly, with her face being red. In response to this, Asuna slapped Kirito on his face, forcing the latter to fell on the floor. It also leaves a red handprint on his face. "Ouch! What are you doing, Asuna?!" Kirito yelped, tendering the pain he received. "Kirito-kun! You really have no delicacy!" Asuna berated. "You dig your own grave, Kirito" Sinon commented. "It's your fault for saying things like that without considering the situation" Lisbeth accused.

"Ahem!" Hiro coughed, gaining everyone's attention. "For starter, how about using normal milk as substitute, I think there is some in the fridge" he suggested. "That's a lifesaver. It's not like I can do breastfeeding anyway" Leafa reluctantly agreed and sighed.

"Yui, Strea" Hiro called out and the AIs' hologram appeared on his shoulders. "What's wrong?" Yui asked. "Find out more how babies behave and informed Leafa about it" he ordered. "Okay" Strea responded and Yui gave a nod. "Ayumu, Kirito, Silica. You three will gather info about our culprit. The rest of you will assist Leafa with babysitting Recon" Hiro commanded. "Roger!" the girls responded. "Roger…" muttered Kirito.

* * *

Throughout the next three hours, everyone becomes very busy in doing their tasks. Kirito, Ayumu and Silica went into the city and ask gather information about Kubota Hari while Hiro studies everything he can about the criminal. Yui and Strea studies about infants' behaviours and then informed Leafa when she did not know what baby Recon wants. As for Asuna and the rest, they helped preparing soft foods that are edible by infants, which also includes buying the ingredients. Somewhat somehow, the girls manage to hold on.

After giving their best, Kirito managed to find out where that bank robber was going to strike next and set up a trap at the stated bank with help from the police. Kubota Hari sprang the trap and was surrounded. However, the robber transformed into a Dopant and started changing everyone around into infants. At that time, Kirito was hiding under the counter.

"Hiro! Transform!" Kirito yelled as he puts on the Double Driver, which also appeared on the bluenette's waist. "Kirito. It is risky to fight Young heads-on. Go with Trigger" Hiro informed. **"Cyclone" "Trigger"** "Henshin!" both yelled and then initiated the transformation. **"Cyclone Trigger"**

As soon as they transformed, the green-blue Kamen Rider gets up from the counter and shot at Young, surprising him. "Kamen Rider?!" Hari gasped. "This time, you're going down. Bank robber!" Kirito declared. "That's not going to happen!" Hari retorted, raising his gun and shoot at Cyclone Trigger. The bicoloured Kamen Rider shoots back as well. So far, their bullets cancelled each other, which they stopped upon realising this.

"Not bad. How about this?" Hari questioned before he started shooting again. Instead, this time he aimed at the ground, creating smokes to blur the Kamen Rider's vision. "Childish tricks" Kirito commented as he takes out Cyclone Memory and replace with Luna Memory before changing the right side. **"Luna Trigger"**

The yellow-blue Kamen Rider shoots out a beam, which then home towards somewhere and then hit its target. "Ouch!" yelped Hari, which gives away his position. "Over there!" yelled Kirito as he started shooting rapidly towards where he believed the scream came from. All the shots hit the child Dopant, causing him to yelp more as the smokes fade away.

Young, realising that he is going to lose, headed towards the entrance and flee. Luna Trigger then give chase and shoots out when the coast is clear. The child Dopant was knocked out onto the ground. "Here's an extra service for a naughty brat" Hiro declared, taking out the Heat Memory and replaces Luna Memory before initiating the Memory Change. **"Heat Trigger"**

Heat Trigger aimed at Young's butt and shoot out a fiery beam. "Hot~!" Upon getting hit, the child Dopant reacted accordingly, getting up and started running around aimlessly while yelping. While Young was distracted, the bicoloured Kamen Rider took out the Trigger Memory and insert it into Trigger Magnum. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"** Heat Trigger shifted the magnum into Maximum Mode and aimed at the child Dopant.

"Trigger Explosion!" yelled Kirito and Hiro. Heat Trigger shoots out a flamethrower at Young, burning it to a crisp as the Dopant exploded. When the detonation subside, Kubota Hari was seen on the ground, somehow his clothing burned a bit but still alive. Besides him is his Gaia Memory that was shattered from the Memory Break.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the Agency…

Leafa is inside the office, looking after baby Shinichi. Baby Shinichi acted again, and the babysitter can tell that he wants milk. "You want some milk again, Shinichi? Wait for a while" Leafa told him as she puts down the infant to recline on the bed.

Kirito's little sister went to get some warm milk ready and puts in. While she was busy doing that, baby Shinichi glowed, and his body grew back to normal. However, Leafa herself was not alert with what is happening. "Suguha-chan, what are you doing?" a familiar male voice asked. "Oh, Shinichi. It's done. Your milk" Leafa answered unintentionally as she just finished preparing the milk and had it in a bottle. Then, she realised something. Did Shinichi just speak? Suguha turned around where Shinichi was and become surprised. Though from audiences' view, we only see the upper half of the stated person.

Of course, from Suguha or rather any adolescent girl's point of view, seeing a naked boy is more embarrassing. "GYAAHHH!" yelled Suguha as she then threw the bottle of milk, which hit directly on Recon's head, making him yelp in pain and feel dizzy. "W-Why…?" moaned Recon before he fainted.

* * *

Back at where Kamen Rider was…

He received a phone call and answered it. "Onii-chan! Hurry and come back!" Leafa yelled, which surprises him. "What's wrong?" asked Kirito. "It's Recon! He's stark naked!" Leafa reported. "Then, just put on some clothes on him" Kirito said tactlessly, not aware that the stated person was already back to normal. Then, Lisbeth took over the phone from Leafa's side and shouted, "Are you stupid?! Recon's already back to normal and doesn't have any clothes! You boys hurry up and deal with this!"

Then, the phone call was ended abruptly, leaving no chance for Kirito to reply. "Looks like your little sister… saw something she shouldn't see…" Hiro awkwardly mentioned before Kirito chuckled gawkily. Even the black swordsman cannot shake off the embarrassment either, especially when his little sister was involved in that kind of situation as well.

An hour later…

Everyone was at the office, with Hiro typing the report this time. Kirito was standing on the tall chair that was located next to the bluenette. As for Recon that is now clothed, he was trying to ask Leafa what was going on. However, Kirito's little sister sulked and refused to talk. The same can be said with Asuna, Sinon, and Lisbeth as well. Apparently, even they saw what they should not see as well. Recon did not understand why those four are boycotting him and was wailing at a corner on his own.

"Speaking of which, does Recon really like Leafa-san that much?" asked Hiro. "Well, apparently. He goes as far as saying he and Sugu are one body and soul. Plus, he was hostile towards me because she thought I was going out with Sugu as a couple until he learns we're siblings" explained Kirito, in which his partner chuckled amusingly. "Either way, it's going to be a million years to go IF he wants to capture a woman's heart, especially if it's your little sister" Hiro remarked. "You're right…" agreed Kirito as he chuckled awkwardly, feeling pity for his moping friend.

 **This is some short filler that's been in my mind. Nothing in this short is implying the shipping. I just thought of using Recon as comic relief. When I read it back, I think of Hayate no Gotoku, where the innocent Ayasaki Hayate is always unfortunate with ladies and ended up getting beaten for it.**


	6. The Sweets Hidden in Elisabeth Mansion

**26th July 2060, Monday**

At Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro was at the work table and there is a box on it. That box was filled with various novels that the bluenette ordered last month and it just arrived. Hence, Hiro was excited to see new books to read.

Of course, the bluenette was not alone. Ayumu, Suguha and Kirito are there as well. Kirito and Suguha are sitting at the small and tall roundtable near Hiro's work table while the bluenette's little sister is standing not too far from them. Ayumu herself does not seem happy with her big brother for a reason. She now had the Double Driver, which she took from Kirito and equipped on her waist, which becomes a belt. However, nothing appeared on Hiro's waist, presumably because he had modified the driver not to function when anyone else try to use it except Kirito.

"Let's go. Kirito-kun" declared Ayumu before she glared at her big brother. As for the Kirigaya siblings, they just sighed in exasperation. Looks like Ayumu is trying to pick up a fight with Hiro. Apparently, Kazuto and Suguha had witness Hiro-Ayumu siblings' fight more than 50 times already.

"Henshin! Now, count up your sins!" Ayumu shouted while using her slipper as a substitute for Gaia Memory before doing Kamen Rider Double's poses and threw a small pile of papers at her big brother, which fell onto the box of books.

The bluenette looked at what his little sister threw at him and then glared at her. "I'm not counting them!" barked Hiro. Then the bluenette flipped through the small papers Ayumu threw at him, which she laughed when he did so. "Eh? Wait? Aren't these my expense bills?" said Hiro before Ayumu appeared on his left and smacked him with her green slipper. "Ouch!" he yelped. The little sister then started squeezing one of the books inside the box while pulling Hiro's left ear as strong as possible. "You're wasting our income on hard-boiled novels?!" Ayumu scolded while Hiro yelped in pain.

Though for the bluenette, he was more worried about getting his books ruined instead of his little sister's violence. He then takes away the tortured books and with his right hand before raising his left elbow to stop the ear pinching.

"Geez. A spoiled kid like you won't get it" Hiro said, flicking at Ayumu's forehead for the ear pinching he gave. "Listen. These are the detective's… No… textbooks for life. It's needed" he said smugly, which made his little sister sighed. "You're just fronting" Ayumu said as she puts her slipper into the box of books. Hiro noticed this and immediately lobbed it away.

"Just what did you learn from Otou-san during probation? To be honest, you should train back from A to Z" Ayumu pointed out, which the bluenette just response with an awkward chuckle. He cannot help but agree that his little sister had a point.

While the Oozora siblings are conversing, the Kirigaya siblings went to a spot that is not audible for the former siblings to hear because of Suguha. It seems she has something she wants to ask from Kazuto. "Hey, Onii-chan. Is it just me or that Hiro-san is distancing himself from Ayumu? Do you know anything?" asked Suguha. "Oh. About that, I do" Kirito answered while scratching his head. "But I can't tell you or everyone else about it" he told her. "Why? Is it because they're not real siblings like us?" asked Suguha. "That's not it. I can't tell anything, at least not now. I got a promise to keep with Hiro" Kirito told her.

Suddenly, the bell rang, which got the attention of both family siblings. "Here it comes! It's been a while since we have a customer!" squealed Ayumu as she rushed towards the door and opened it, with Hiro in suit. "Welcome!"

Then, several people came in, consisted of three women and two men, to Ayumu's surprise. She and Hiro were forced to back off when the customers were being persistent. The lady in the centre, who seems to be the leader had green eyes and had brown hair tied in a ponytail. She wore white shirt inside a green jacket and brown pants with grey shoes. This woman is Ashihara Keiko.

"Please! Find my father!" Keiko requested. "Find him!" the other four said. The five of them keep saying the same thing, which confused things. "Stop!" yelled Ayumu, which the customers then stopped talking. "Calm down. Are you all a family?" she asked. "We're not" the customers answered in unison.

"Then, each of you are making separate request?" asked Suguha. "That's right" the customers answered in unison. "Then, why come together?" asked Kirito. "Because everyone who disappeared are in the same line of work" Keiko answered. "The police won't help us at all!" whined the woman on Keiko's right while the rest nodded in agreement. "That job is…" trailed Hiro, wondering what it is. "Patissier" the customers answered in unison.

* * *

Elsewhere, in a very dark place…

A male patissier, whose cloth and appearance were stained with creamy and sugary ingredients, is crawling up the stairs. It seems he wants to escape for a reason. While doing so, that man noticed some glowing text on the door at the top. The written text was 'You can't get away' and it started melting before it charged towards the fleeing patissier, in the form of cream. The man yelled when he was being attacked.

* * *

 **27th July 2060, Thursday**

From yesterday until today, the detectives of Asaka Detective Agency are wondering around in the city, looking for clues about the disappearance of patissiers. This time, instead of Kirito, it was Hiro who goes outdoor, against his will because Ayumu was worried about her big brother's health, especially when he always collapsed from transforming as W. In return, Kirito remained standby at the office with Suguha and had Yui do some research about the missing patissier.

Currently, the bluenette is waiting at Ashihara Pastry Cafe. Keiko had served some cake for them as she went to get the documents about her father, Ashihara Juzo, who was among the missing people. The bluenette however did not feel happy, mainly because his job this time involved something sweet things like pastries. _"The request this time is baffling. It is the disappearance case of this city's famous patissiers. Man… How can a dandy like me put up with a job like this? The smell of sweet cream… doesn't match my hard-boiled style"_ thought Hiro.

"Don't be picky!" yelled Ayumu as she came hitting his head with her slipper suddenly, to his dismay. "How did you read my mind?!" Hiro questioned angrily. "Because it's written all over your face!" Ayumu yelled as she sat beside him. "Urgh!" growled Hiro. "Don't complained. We got customers, so we need to do our job properly or do I need to mention who spend this much on novels?" Ayumu threatened, showing the expense bills that are proof of her big brother wasting his money, at least in her sense.

The bluenette was speechless and it is true that he spends a fortune on those novels. "Fine. I'll do it" Hiro reluctantly agreed. "That's more like it" commented Ayumu in delight. "But, you go back to the office" Hiro told her.

"Why?! All this time, I've been doing the investigation with Kirito-kun. Why is it that with us siblings, you're driving me out?!" Ayumu whined, annoyed that her big brother is ordering her to stay out of the investigation.

"Do I have to spell it out? It's dangerous. It's only natural that as your Aniki (Big Brother), my responsibility is to keep you away from danger. There's nothing more to discuss" Hiro elucidated. "Huh? What's with that guardian act? You're just half-baked" cavilled Ayumu and then sniggered, which made the bluenette felt very sensitive and glared at her. "Why you…!" growled Hiro.

Though, before the siblings could start fighting, Keiko arrived with an envelope in her arms, which they noticed and stood. "Oh, Keiko-san" said Hiro. "These are all the documents about my father, Ashihara Juzo" Keiko told them before she passed the envelope to Ayumu.

Hiro's little sister then opened the envelope and saw that it was a sweet magazine. Regardless, she flipped up through it until she found out something about Keiko's father. It was a brief profile of Ashihara Juzo, who was ranked as the number one patissier in Amanohara. Of course, Ayumu was quite amazed to know about it. "Eh… it says he's the number Amanohara number one patissier" she stated.

"Geez, why are the police slacking off?" sighed Hiro. Then the bluenette remembered that when it comes to police work, Officer Kagami Tetsuo knew best about what is going on. "I'm going to talk with Kagami-san a bit" he said before leaving the pastry café.

"The reason was probably that mansion…" muttered Keiko. "Huh?" Ayumu responds puzzlingly. "To be honest, my father went missing after he was invited to the Elisabeth mansion. The others also said the same thing" explained Keiko. "Then, the missing people and the culprit are over there" assumed Ayumu. "I think so too" agreed Keiko. "One more thing…" she trailed and explained to Ayumu, who listened carefully.

* * *

Elsewhere, at an alleyway…

Windy Ramen cart was opening its business there. There were three customers having Ramen while having a discussion. Those people were Oozora Hiro, Kagami Tetsuo and Nobu Kouji. Apparently, the bluenette was complaining that the police did not do their job properly in finding the missing people.

"Fool! Don't underestimate the police!" yapped Nobu. "If you want to complain, make sure you find those missing people first, Nobita" Hiro retorted while addressing his name wrongly. "Well… we searched in the whole city… yet we haven't found any leads" Nobu mentioned before he realised that Hiro said his name wrong. "Hey! Who're you calling _Nobita_?! Address me as Nobu-san!" he barked.

"I'm kidding… Geez, you sure are more hot-blooded than I thought" Hiro grumbled. "I don't want to hear that from you!" retorted Nobu. "Come to think of it, there's just one place we haven't inspect properly. It's the place where they said Ashihara Juzo disappeared" Kagami started speaking. "Where?" asked Hiro abruptly. "It's that famous Elisabeth household" answered Kagami. "Elisabeth?" echoed Hiro.

"Yeah. I went there thinking I would investigate it, but I was sent away at the gate. Even if that's not the case, I don't think I can approach that place anymore" Kagami added. Then, the bluenette noticed something odd about what the officer said. "Hold on. How come the police are avoiding that place? Why?" asked Hiro.

"What are you saying?! The master at that mansion is so scary! Right?" Kagami told the bluenette before asking Nobu to confirm it. "Yeah… That person seems terribly scary" said Nobu. "Yeah" agreed Kagami. "'I will pay for my own investigation. I don't want the police to be here' is what he said! How scary!" he whined which even Nobu felt terror-stricken. "Is it really that scary? That mansion's master?" asked Hiro curiously. "If you don't believe it, go and see for yourself. At least I can say it's not only the two of us that were scared" Kagami told the bluenette.

* * *

Later at Asaka Detective Agency…

Inside the garage, both Hiro and Kirito are there. Yui was on Kirito's shoulder as a hologram while Suguha and Ayumu are nowhere to be seen. Regardless, Hiro did not bother about it and decided to discuss the findings that both sides obtained.

"According to my research, the common point between those missing people are that they were invited as guests at the Elisabeth mansion" Yui explained. "Elisabeth? Where did I hear that name before?" asked Kirito, wondering where he heard the English-like family name.

"Sara Lindsey Elisabeth or DJ Idol, Princess Sara" Hiro told him. "Oh, it's Princess Sara… I never thought she lived in this neighbourhood. I honestly thought she was from a different city" said Kirito. "This means, we can go pay her a visit!" he squealed, which made his eldest daughter pouted. "Papa! No cheating!" Yui cried. "Just kidding…" Kirito said and chuckled awkwardly.

"Ahem!" Hiro fake coughed loudly which got their attention. "The head of the Elisabeth family likes sweets. It seems each week he invites a first-rate patissier for sweets time. There's definitely something going on there" the bluenette explained as he flipped through his notebook, where wrote the important points he got from outdoor investigation. "Elisabeth, huh?" Kirito muttered. Then the bluenette noticed something odd, which is Suguha and Ayumu are not around.

"Come to think of it, that Ayumu, she should have been here by now. I just hope she didn't get lured away with sweet things. And where is Suguha-san?" asked Hiro. "If you're that worried about your own sister, why don't you go check up on her?" suggested Kirito, which made the bluenette puzzled. "Eh? Where?" asked Hiro.

"At the Elisabeth Mansion" Yui answered. "Hahaha don't be kidding. There's no way she could be there" Hiro denied with a chuckle, believing Yui was joking. "It's true. She and Suguha are doing undercover work there as maids" Kirito told him. The bluenette paused upon hearing this and ended up dropping his notebook. "Ayumu is doing UNDERCOVER WORK?!" yelled Hiro. "Suguha-san too?!"

"Yeah. Also, Ashihara Keiko is an apprentice patissier of her father. This week, she was invited to the mansion. Apparently, Ayumu and Sugu went with her and got introduced in" explained Kirito. The bluenette back offs a few steps while putting on a facepalm upon realising what is going on.

"As usual, your little sister is straightforward in doing things. Don't you agree, Yui?" asked Kirito. "Yes. She's very impressive" Yui agreed and complimented. "You idiots! This is no time to be impressed!" Hiro yelled angrily, which made Yui and Kirito jumped in surprise before the bluenette stormed off and leave. "Ayumu!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Elisabeth Mansion…

The owner of the mansion, Shane is having some tea at his dining table, with a few maids accompanying him. One of them is an old lady with yellow eyes and black hair. Her name was Kusuhara Miyano. "Today's tea is quite good. Who makes this?" asked Shane. "Actually, two new maids joined, and it was one of them who made this" Miyano answered. "Two? Who are they?" asked Shane curiously. "Asaka Ayumu and Kirigaya Suguha" said Miyano.

At the courtyard…

Ayumu is running on the railings, chasing after something with a mop in her hand. Suguha is following her on normal grounds and the two wore maid outfits. "Wait! Wait! Wait!" yelled Ayumu as she ran. "Hold it! That's dangerous, Ayumu!" warned Suguha. Hiro's little sister then leaped off the railing and landed. She seems to be in pain but then continue her chase and then make an ambush on a small silhouette. That silhouette was none other than Elisabeth's pet cat, Riki.

Of course, their actions are not unnoticed because Sara Lindsey Elisabeth happens to be passing by from the ground. From the Princess's view, she could see the two maids are chasing after her family pet cat, Riki and Ayumu was coercing the little animal into eating her made cat food. However, Suguha tell her to be gentler with animals.

"Hey!" yelled Sara, which got the maids attention. "Who are you two?" she questioned. "Ah! It's Sara Lindsey Elisabeth!" squealed Ayumu as she run and approached the DJ Idol. "I never thought to see you here. I see, you're a resident of this mansion. That means, we're living in the same neighbourhood" she deduced.

This goofy behaviour of a maid and her way of treating the family member of Elisabeth household by being overfriendly is rather annoying, which made her gnashed her teeth once in annoyance. "I'm the one asking questions here. Who are you two?" Sara questioned again with a glare.

"I deeply apologise!" Ayumu apologised in a bow upon realising her rudeness before doing a graceful, spin dance once. "I'm the new maid, Asaka Ayumu and this is Kirigaya Suguha. Pleased to meet you! Love! Love!" she introduced herself in literally the goofiest way possible, which also includes doing a heart sign with both her hands.

"Hello…" Suguha awkwardly greeted, somehow could not bring herself to do such flashy welcoming like Hiro's little sister. However, Sara, she was not really paying attention to Kirito's little sister. Instead, she was very puzzled because this is her first time seeing a maid as noisy as Ayumu in her home.

* * *

Sometimes later…

Some of the maids are gathered at a small room where they usually do meetings. Of course, Suguha and Ayumu were there, getting lectured by Head Maid, Kusuhara Miyano. There were also two others. One is a chubby brunet with yellow eyes. This woman is Nakamura Shizuka. The other one is a scraggy blonde with purple eyes and wore rimless round glasses. This woman is Sazaki Sonoko.

"Fools!" yelled Miyano angrily, which made the two newbies were forced to cover their ears. "How dare you two display such a rude behaviour towards Sara-sama and Riki-sama! ..." the head maid continued nagging Ayumu and Suguha for their improper attitudes. "The newbies sure are destructive" Sonoko gossiped with Shizuka. "Riki-sama lost all his vitality after eating their made cat-food" the chubby maid stated. As she said this, Riki was somewhere else, moaning and feeling unwell like the little pet ate something bad.

"Nakamura-san! Sazaki-san! Be sure to teach these two the basic of basics!" ordered Miyano before she left, which the mentioned maids bowed. Afterwards, the chubby maid approached the newbies and poke their backs. "You two really done it" chaffed Shizuka before she takes out a packet of snacks and eat some. "Head Maid Kusuhara-san is like an Oni Sergeant. You'll be having tough times" she told them before taking a seat at the nearby table.

"It's a mistake. I did no such thing. I was dragged along. Honest" Suguha corrected them because she was innocent. "That means it was you. Geez, you're quite troublesome" commented Shizuka, referring to Ayumu.

"Even if you said that, I don't know right from left here" whined Ayumu. "This is unlike normal mansions. It's far stricter. First, in the Elisabeth household, the ironclad rules are: Do not see (Mizaru), Do not talk (Kikazaru), Do not listen (Iwazaru)" Sonoko demonstrated by closing her eyes, then her mouth and ears with her hands. "What's that? Bad Monkeys (Saru)?" guessed Ayumu. "No… it's Nikkou Monkeys (Saru)" Suguha corrected, which Hiro's little sister then realised her mistake.

"Do not see the family members except when your job requires. Do not talk to them. Do not listen in on them. This is absolute amongst the workers here" Sonoko emphasised her point before she takes a seat next to Shizuka. "I don't think I can do that…" sighed Ayumu. "Everything so precise…" she grumbled.

"Then quit immediately" said Shizuka, unaware about her surrounding while eating her snack. Then she glanced around and noticed the newbies was nowhere to be found. Only Ayumu's mop was there. "Huh? Where did they go?" she asked herself, which even Sonoko noticed the sudden absence of Ayumu and Suguha.

It turns out, they sneaked out when the experienced maids were not looking. To be specific, it was Ayumu who dragged Suguha along with her. They are currently sneaking around in the mansion, observing the people inside the mansion.

"I CAN'T be a Saru-san from Nikkou!" sneered Ayumu as she took out a pen and a notebook. "Hey, Ayumu…" moaned Suguha, worried about getting dragged into trouble. "Don't waste time, Suguha. Let's get this investigation going" declared Ayumu. She opened a specific page, which has the face drawing of the people she believed to be the suspects.

Hiro's little sister then make her move, which Suguha was unable to do anything when she tried to persuade the pinkie-haired girl. In the end, she also plays along with her, doing the investigation in secret. When they noticed someone coming, they either hide or pretend to do some cleaning.

* * *

As they are doing undercover investigation, Hiro had just arrived at the main gate that leads to Elisabeth Mansion. However, as expected, such place is not going to welcome people with open arms. While trying to find a way in, he suddenly paused when seeing the mansion itself.

It may be his imagination but that place suddenly emitted a very scary dark aura, which made him fall on his butt by surprise. Before he even realised it, his body started shaking in fear and he was breathing heavily. "What's that just now?" Hiro muttered frighteningly. Though, instead of thinking about that, the bluenette was worried about his little sister and Suguha. He decides to go around, finding a different entrance.

* * *

Back in the mansion, at the kitchen…

Keiko, in her chef uniform was preparing some pastries for the Elisabeth family. During preparation, she was observed by a grumpy-looking, bald and slightly beardy old man with grey eyes. That man is the Head Chef, Shiratori Kairi. "It seems acceptable somehow. You're not your father after all" Kairi commented before leaving, which Keiko responded with a bow.

Suddenly, Ayumu appeared behind the client, which took her by surprise. "How suspicious!" the pinkie-haired girl exclaimed. "Ayumu-san!" gasped Keiko, which Hiro's little sister responded with a grin. "That's the Head Chef Shiratori-san, right? V-e-r-y C-r-e-e-p-y" Ayumu commented as she noted this in her notebook, adding the stated person into her list of suspects, which made her client sighed in exasperation.

"It's only natural that he'd say that. Being picked by the head of the Elisabeth household is a great honour for a patissier" explained Keiko, which made Hiro's little sister nodded understandably.

"But, everyone in this mansion is so suspicious. The beautiful lady, the fussy head maid, the gossiping maids and that unsociable head chef. There are so many that it's like characters in a painting!" Ayumu pointed out. "Have you found any leads? I… can't do this without my father. My father is a treasure in this industry" Keiko explained her worries.

"I see… You look up to your father, don't you?" deduced Ayumu, which her client responded with a nod. Hiro's little sister smiled at this because she felt like she and Keiko are similar, which is having their respective fathers as their idols. "It's okay. Trust me. I'm a famous detective like my father" she assured with a grin, which Keiko responded in similar manner.

Then, Ayumu heard some knocking sound, which got her attention to look at the window. There, she saw Stag Phone in its Live Mode was doing it. Apart from that, Suguha was there as well, giving some hand gestures, telling Ayumu to go outside. "Excuse me for a while" Ayumu told Keiko before she left the kitchen while the client herself continue to prepare the pastries. Though, unknown to her, there was someone, in the form of cream was observing her from the wall in front of her. Whoever the culprit is, this someone is going to go after Keiko as the next target.

As for Ayumu, she and Suguha followed the Stag Phone to the mansion's gate number 6, where Hiro was waiting outside. Of course, like other gates, it is heavily locked. "Oh! You came, Onii-chan! I'm so happy!" squealed Ayumu as she and Suguha approached the gate while the bluenette's Memory Gadget returned to him as a normal mobile phone.

"Hey, listen up. Enough with the 'stand play' (Grandstanding)!" Hiro scolded, which left the two girls puzzled. "Huh?!" replied Ayumu. "Don't you girls know this mansion is dangerous?!" Hiro questioned them worriedly.

"We do! That's why we're doing undercover work!" whispered Ayumu. _"Although she drags me into it…"_ mumbled Suguha in her mind. "You can't get inside, right?" taunted Ayumu. "It's a job for the famous detective Asaka Ayumu!" she said with a big grin while her big brother chuckled out of pity before giving a glare.

"You mean the detective's… **_DAUGHTER_** , Asaka Ayumu" Hiro corrected her annoyingly. "Listen. At the very least, Boss taught me the basics of detective work. In times like this, listen to me!" he nagged the girls, particularly Ayumu. The said little sister was annoyed but knew what to say back as she approached the gate.

"You're a properly taught half-boiled detective!" Ayumu retorted with a taunting finger into one of the gate's pores. "What was that?!" Hiro growled and put his hands and face towards the gate, trying to chomp the said girl's taunting finger but failed, because she pulled it out just before he did it. "Hey, Onii-chan. We've been together, but I got a feeling that you've been hiding something from me. That's about my father, right? You haven't properly told me that" Ayumu told him.

The said big brother was startled from that and speechless. "About that…" muttered Hiro stutteringly, somehow hesitated to say. "See? You can't get in! You can't get in! Be good and wait for the chief's report! Bye!" Ayumu ridiculed and laughed childishly as she dragged Suguha along, against her will. The bluenette growled in frustration that he let his guard down his little sister but then sighed exasperatingly since he cannot do anything further. "Mou… What a troublesome little sister" Hiro muttered.

* * *

Later, at the Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro went to the work table and sat at the chair. The bluenette then started pondering a lot of things in his mind. Of course, Kirito noticed his return and approached the bluenette. The black swordsman was alone. Yui and Strea were not with him in holograms either.

"Hey, Hiro. Can I ask you something?" Kirito requested. "What?" asked Hiro, wondering what the black swordsman going to ask. "The truth is… Sugu was starting to suspect us hiding something. To be honest, I don't think I could hide it any longer" Kirito admitted. "What are you trying to say?" Hiro asked, somehow not getting what the black swordsman meant.

"Isn't it about time you told Ayumu the truth? That night of beginning, your Begins Night? How you became a Kamen Rider and the truth behind the death of Asaka Fuuto?" Kirito suggested. "Like I could tell her that?!" Hiro yelled suddenly, which takes the black swordsman by surprise. Though, the bluenette realised his sudden increase in tone and calm downs. "I don't have the courage to do so. More importantly, I'm scared… what Ayumu responds will be if I told her that it's my fault Boss was killed" he admitted.

"So, you're running away? How long are you going to run away from the truth?! Ayumu is your little sister, your family member! She deserves to know this! If you dragged it any longer, the consequences will be irreversible!" Kirito berated. "I know…" Hiro muttered and inadvertently started to shed tears.

The black swordsman noticed this and somehow feel bad for saying such things in high tone. "Sorry... for raising my voice at you. I said too much" apologised Kirito. "No… you're right. I was running away. But, I don't know where to start. I admit that I'm scared of getting hated by Ayumu for the rest of my life" Hiro concurred and confessed his worries.

The tension went silent for a while, that is until the black swordsman decided to speak. "You knew from your lookup, right? That Sugu and I aren't biological siblings?" Kirito assumed. "Well, I do. It's not like I cannot understood your unsettling feeling. I do feel the same way about Ayumu" Hiro concurred.

"I can't understand it myself either… Why am I distancing myself from Sugu? Is it really because we aren't blood related? Is it because she's not my real sister that I feel like a burden to her? When I tried to save Asuna from Sugou in ALO, without knowing who Leafa really was, I was with Sugu all along. When I realised that it was her and I am Kirito, she became quite angry when I came to check on her and the same time, suffering a lot, all because of me. Since we're not real siblings, Sugu had feelings of love for me yet when she realised Kirito and Kazuto are the same person that loved Asuna, I hurt her heart. Even if we're already make up, I could never forget that" Kirito regrettably explained. "What about you?" he asked.

"Simple. I… don't feel like I deserved to be her big brother, not to mention as a lover even if she wasn't adopted. But… Boss entrusted me to look after Ayumu and I can't run away from that duty. At the very least, that's a way for me of atoning my sins" explained Hiro.

"Hiro…" muttered Kirito. The bluenette then gets up from the chair. "In any case, I'm going to do a lookup. You go to the mansion. I got a bad feeling about leaving them there" Hiro told him. "Understood" Kirito agreed and he left the office while Hiro went to the garage to do lookup.

* * *

Back at the mansion…

In the dining room, the maids, Sonoko, Shizuka and Miyano served Keiko's made cakes to Sara, Shane and Hermione respectively for sweets time. Of course, Ayumu and Suguha are observing from the doors outside, which is the blind-spot for the people inside unless they look around. "That person is Master? He looks amazing" muttered Suguha.

The master of this mansion takes a bite of the said pastry and he felt amazed from it. "Well made. This was quite good. Who was the patissier today? Ashi… Ashi…" remarked Shane as he tried to guess the name of the patissier. "What was it?" he asked curiously and could not remember the hired pastry chef. While the master was trying to remember, Ayumu immediately went and fetch Keiko. Seconds afterwards…

"Master!" a loud female voice suddenly shouted, which got the attention of _everyone _in the dining room. That voice belongs to none other than Ayumu, who dragged Keiko into the dining room, against her will. Suguha tried to stop Hiro's little sister but she was too late. Instead of joining Ayumu, she decided to continue observing. "Today's patissier is person! Ashihara Keiko-san!" Hiro's little sister pointed out.

However, for the rest, particularly, the maids were greatly speechless and embarrassed because Ayumu violated this mansion's ironclad rule in the most monstrous way, by being overfriendly and loud. Hermione was annoyed from this. "The quality had gone down… this mansion's maids as well" the eldest daughter of Elisabeth riposted.

"I'm terribly sorry, Hermione-sama" Miyano apologised with a bow and Shizuka bows as well. "Ah! Asaka-san!" the head maid whispered angrily, which Ayumu realised what she did and immediately behave properly. "Ashihara Keiko-kun, right? I'll memorise that" Shane told the patissier, who bows in gratitude from this.

"Way to go, Keiko-san!" cheered Ayumu excitedly, who held the patissier hand and the latter smile in return. "This girl is unexpectedly interesting. She doesn't make any sense at all!" Sara chuckled amusingly. "New maid-kun. I'll remember you as well" Shane said while pointing to Ayumu. Hiro's little sister was speechless and smile awkwardly, realising that she had attract too much attention, up to the master of this mansion. "Uh-oh…" muttered Suguha, having a general idea what could happen to Ayumu after this.

* * *

Later, at the mansion's yard…

As Suguha predicted, Ayumu was being punished by Miyano. The head maid drags Hiro's little sister out there while pinching her right ear. "Come here! I never seen a maid like you!" Miyano reprimanded and pinched harder.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Kusuhara-san! That really hurts!" yelped Ayumu. "There's no way that would hurts! It can't hurt that much! Stop babbling!" Miyano scolded, pinching even harder. While getting nagged and pinched by the head maid, Ayumu noticed a man heading into the bushes, unknown to others. That man was none other than the head chef, Shiratori Kairi. "Head chef! This is suspicious!" exclaimed Ayumu before she broke free from the ear pinching and nagging by raising her arms suddenly, much to head maid's dismay and run. "Asaka-san!" shouted Miyano as she started to chase after the newbie. However, Ayumu quickly picked up the nearby empty garbage bin (without the cover) and puts it on the head chef.

Afterwards, she picked up one of the metal pots that happens to be on the shelf nearby and knocked the bin from outside as hard as she can, causing the head maid to become dizzy from the vibration and move randomly. Then, she takes her leave to pursue the head chef.

Of course, Ayumu did not head there straight away because if Kairi had a weapon or he was a Dopant. Hence, she went to pick up her mop, intending to use it as her self-defence weapon if needed before going after the head chef.

Currently, she was waiting behind the bushes, observing Kairi as he bends his body, doing something unknown to others while preparing to strike first. After taking a deep breath and calm downs, she then came out of hiding to show herself.

"What are you doing, Head Chef?!" Ayumu questioned suspiciously, readying the mop in her hands. The head chef noticed this and glared at her for peeking into his secret activity. "You saw me, right?" questioned Kairi. Ayumu gasped in fear and quickly readied herself, preparing for the worst to come. However, instead of attacking Ayumu or transforming into a Dopant, the head chef suddenly smiled earnestly and friendly. Kairi then showed that he was holding an iron golf club. "I'm actually practicing. Please keep quiet about this. I am quite bad with this" the head chef awkwardly admitted and chuckled, which Hiro's little sister awkwardly nodded in agreement. She now realised that Kairi was just practicing swinging his club properly for golf sports in secret. Her biasness about the head chef being the culprit blew away from this revelation. _"No way… It's a complete miss. Plus, he's unexpectedly nice"_ Ayumu thought awkwardly from her wrong deduction.

* * *

At the main gate of the mansion…

Kirito is waiting at the front gate, while Hiro is doing a lookup in the Planetary Bookshelves back at the agency to find out the next target. While waiting, the black swordsman received a call from the bluenette. "What's wrong, Hiro?" asked Kirito. "The next one to be targeted is Ashihara Keiko-san" Hiro told him. The black swordsman was surprised to hear this but regardless let the bluenette continues. At that time, the bluenette was looking over the magazine that Ayumu received from Ayumu. "She's not on Amanohara's best five patissiers list from this magazine article, but I just did a lookup. She's number six. The five people above her disappeared, so she's next in line" he explained.

Upon realising this, Kirito puts off his phone and decided to infiltrate the mansion. However, before he could do so, someone pulled him from behind and pinned him against the pillar next to the gate. That someone is none other than Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth. Of course, the black swordsman is not pleased if someone does that to him. "That hurt! Hey, you! What are you doing?!" barked Kirito, trying to break free but could not so. Instead, his neck got pinned instead.

"Spill it. You're Sara-chan's stalker, aren't you?" Junnosuke interrogated. The black swordsman was confused but before he could reply immediately, his neck was being pushed further by the man in black suits in front of him and coughed, trying to grasp some air. "Wrong! I'm a fan, not a stalker!" Kirito told him.

"What a transparent excuse. All guys said the same thing. This is the state of this city's youth?" sighed Junnosuke as Kirito struggle to break free. "Listen, I love this perfect Amanohara" the man in black suits began lecturing. "What are you taking about so suddenly?!" growled Kirito before he glared at the man in front of him. Then, his eyes widen in surprise upon seeing him, sensing some familiarity. "You… Where did I see you before…" Kirito tried to ask but Junnosuke pinched the former's mouth to zip it. "Listen! Be quiet and listen. I…" the man in suits then started to ramble with his stories while Kirito struggle to open his mouth.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the mansion's kitchen…

Suguha accompanied Keiko as the latter returned to the kitchen to be on standby. "Poor Ayumu… I've already warned her not to do something that stands out. I wonder what the Head Maid is doing at her…?" moaned Suguha worriedly, wondering how Hiro's little sister was doing. "But thanks to her, the Master likes me. Like my father. I feel so happy" Keiko admitted.

"You've become worthy of riding my tongue!" a guttural voice, presumably a male, echoed suddenly and laughed, which made the girls to be on their guard. Then, they noticed something written on the wall not too far from them, specifically Keiko. There is a text 'Congratulations' in creams pasted on the wall. The cream then melted and emerge alive, charging towards Keiko. Upon noticing this, the patissier immediately made a run for it. However, the cream was faster, and it grabbed Keiko's leg, drawing her towards itself through the cooking table. "Keiko-san!" yelled Suguha as she rushed towards the patissier and grabbed her hands to pull the latter out. However, the cream was way stronger, and Kirito's little sister had trouble dealing with this. "Hurry and pull me out!" pleaded Keiko. "I'm trying! But this is way too strong for me alone!" Suguha cried, trying her best to hold on. "Anyone! Help!" screamed Keiko as loud as she can.

* * *

At the gate again…

Kirito was forced to hear Junnosuke's stupid ramblings of his turn of life while having trouble to speak because his own mouth was pinched by the latter. Then, the black swordsman heard the SOS scream coming from inside the mansion. Realising that someone is in trouble, Kirito immediately break himself free from Junnosuke's grasp and rush to climb over the walls. "Hey! Stalker-kun! Stop!" yelled the man in suit as he rushes to the gate, calling out to Kirito to halt but the black swordsman ignored him.

As for Kirito, he sprinted as deep as he can to keep Junnosuke off his track and somehow succeeded. However, he still was grumbling how painful it was to get his own lips pinched by someone while his neck was strangled concurrently. "Help!" a familiar female voice, belonged to Suguha yelled.

Kirito heard the scream and glanced around to locate the source. Then, he noticed his little sister, inside the kitchen was having trouble to pull out Keiko from something that looks like cream. Of course, unusual things that occur can only be caused by Dopants. "Sugu!" gasped Kirito worriedly as he takes out the Double Driver and equipped it to his waist. "Hiro! There's a Dopant!"

At the garage, the bluenette was already on standby, ready to transform anytime. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" both yelled and initiated the transformation, with Kirito's body becoming Kamen Rider W. **"Cyclone Joker"**

Immediately after transforming, the green-black Kamen Rider rushed to find an entrance and soon locates a backdoor. Without any delay, Cyclone Joker intruded and hastes to the kitchen using the girls' screams as guidance.

After reaching the kitchenette, the green-black Kamen Rider run towards Suguha and helped her to pull Keiko out from the cream. With Cyclone Joker's ability, the two were able to pull out the patissier along with the cream while crashing against the table behind them. Regardless, the three of them were still safe and sound albeit drenched in sticky creams.

However, the emulsion itself immediately flee upon realising that it has failed. "What's this?!" Kirito rumbled annoyingly while trying to shake off the disgusting thing off his hand. Then, he realised that the living cream ran away and decides to leave Keiko in Suguha's hand as he went after it. "Trying to run?!"

Outside...

Junnosuke had somehow managed to arrive at the backyard, looking for Kirito, whom he deemed as Sara's stalker. However, instead of finding the prowler, he finds a living cream hopping onto the roof, which is then followed by Cyclone Joker, to his surprise. "Kamen Rider!" gasped Junnosuke before he equipped his Memory Driver and took out the Nasca Memory to transform. **"Nasca"**

* * *

Back to where Kamen Rider was…

Cyclone Joker pursued the living cream until they reached an open field. When that happens, the living emulsion stopped and then emerged into something else. It is indeed a Dopant, whose body is fully made of confectionaries like chocolates, almonds, red beans and other forms of sugary food one can name of. Even though it is a monster made of food, it has a disgusting and fearsome look that can rendered anyone unable to see confectionaries as just good-looking pastries for a certain period. This Dopant's name is Sweets and its body was rather irregular for a humanoid form because the confectionaries are randomly distributed instead of equally.

"What is this? A monster made of confectionaries?" deduced Kirito based on what he observed. "Monster?! How rude! I am the personification of taste!" barked Sweets, insulted from the comment just now. "Nonsense. Why don't you taste this then?" said Kirito before he charged towards the confectionary Dopant to attack.

Cyclone Joker uses his hand-to-hand method to combat Sweets. The confectionary manages to avoid the first few while backing off but then ended up getting blown away with a kick by the green-black Kamen Rider.

The confectionary Dopant immediately gets up and opened its mouth to moan when Cyclone Joker came to attack it again. Although instead of moaning, Sweets was in fact vomiting its cream on the green-black Kamen Rider, who continued to do consecutive attacks on it until the confectionary Dopant was knocked away.

When Cyclone Joker stopped attacking, he then noticed his feet was stained with that vomiting cream. Getting dirty is one thing but what makes this worse is that the creams was already hardened like cements, rendering the green-black Kamen Rider immobile. Sweets chuckled at this as Cyclone Joker struggle to break free before launching that cream attack again, but this time from its left arm.

Cyclone Joker blocked the attack with his right arm, but the cream ended up making the affected arm becomes heavy and stuck when it dried up quickly. Kirito realised that they need to melt this cemented cream and to do so, Heat is needed. "This is bad! Hiro! Heat!" he yelled. Hiro attempted in controlling Cyclone Joker to get the Heat Memory, but he failed because the arm was too stiffed to move. "No good! The right's arm is completely frozen. I can't move it!" cried Hiro. "No way…" Kirito moaned in fear, worried that they will get beaten at this rate. As for Sweets, it chuckled amusingly from seeing this scene. "That's good. Be afraid! Fear is rich flavouring that makes my tongue dance!" the confectionary Dopant declared and chuckled evilly.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the mansion…

Ayumu was wondering around with her notebook in hand, frustrating about her investigation. "How strange… I checked that Head Chef with two circles for suspiciousness" she moaned before putting the pen to hang in between her nose and lips.

Then she noticed Shane passing by, not aware that Ayumu herself was there before slowly going somewhere and passed through a door. Afterwards, out of inquisitiveness, Ayumu sneakily went after him and went to the same door. However, when she does follow the master of this mansion, he was nowhere to be found. She did notice two doors, which one of them is possibly where Shane went through. Though, what makes it more bugging for her is that the both doors are already closed tight and for some reason none of them were seemed to be touched. "Master…?" muttered Ayumu.

* * *

Back at the open field…

Hiro tried all his might to move Double's right arm but to no avail. The only option they have is to use Double's left side to turn the tide of this battle. "Got to do something with just my side" Kirito declared, taking out the Metal Memory to swap with Joker. **"Metal" "Cyclone Metal"**

Sweets noticed the change from the Kamen Rider as the latter started to take out the Metal Shaft from his back and immediately attacked with its cream shots again. However, Bat Shot in its Live Mode arrived and quickly repel some of the shots, with Cyclone Metal deflecting one of them. Afterwards, the Memory Gadget combined itself with the Metal Shaft, shifting the weapon to Sonic Mode. Bat Shot immediately shriek with high frequency, sending out a high-pitched sonar that shattered the whole cemented cream on Cyclone Metal, freeing himself.

Sweets panic upon the realisation and started attacking with its cream shots. "Sonic Shaft! Go!" yelled Kirito as he used the bat pole to attack. Thanks to Bat Shot's sonar, the incoming creams were cancelled out like a wind, allowing Cyclone Metal to approach closer and land a hit on the confectionary Dopant, leaving it surprised. "Now! Return the people you abducted!" Kirito demanded, continue attacking Sweets before pricking on the confectionary Dopant a few times before knocking it away with a swipe.

Sweets rolled on the ground as it was knocked by Cyclone Metal before it stood once more and backs off. "If they gave mundane confectionaries, I'd give them back like that. I can't live without the finest sweets" the confectionary Dopant confessed before it chuckled evilly. Though, for Kirito or at least anyone who could be standing in his shoes, Sweets was just being paranoid. Anyone can still live if they do not eat finest sweets or anything they are quite obsessed with. However, no one could survive easily if they do not eat or drink for 7 and 3 days straight respectively.

"You…! What a selfish thing to do!" growled Kirito as he prepared himself to smack Sweets. Nevertheless, before Cyclone Metal could do that, he was ambushed from behind by Nasca, forcing the former to back off and then defend himself from another hit, getting their weapons locked onto each other. "You…!" growled Kirito, remembering this Dopant that he encountered from the other day.

"What an interesting place to meet, Kamen Rider-kun" Nasca greeted before repelling and striking Cyclone Metal on the stomach, knocking him away. "Today, I will defeat you for sure!" said the cyan Dopant as he smacked the green-grey Kamen Rider again. Nasca tried to strike again and Cyclone Metal tried to defend himself. However, the cyan Dopant repelled the Metal Shaft and slashed the green-grey Kamen Rider again, forcing him to back off. "I will expose your secrets for sure!" declared Nasca.

"I don't have time to deal with you!" barked Kirito as he tried to attack Nasca, who repelled his attack easily and countered. To make things worse, even Sweets takes advantage of Kamen Rider W's impediment and attacked the latter as well. Now, Cyclone Metal had to deal with two troublesome Dopants simultaneously. While the green-grey Kamen Rider was occupied with his two opponents, Hermione was secretly observing from behind the tree that is not too far from where the battle takes place. It seems she had some interest in the bicoloured Kamen Rider. "W…" Hermione muttered.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the dark part of the mansion…

Shane was going down a set of stairs as sounds of weapon clashing can be heard from there. The master was holding a Memory Driver in his right hand before he halted his step and equipped it to his waist, transforming it into a belt. "The mansion has become quite noisy" said Shane disapprovingly before he takes out his Golden Gaia Memory and pressed it. **"Terror"**

The master lets go of his Memory, which by its own will, enters the slot on the Driver and activated. As this happens, Shane raises his hands up into the air while roaring in increasing volume as he ascended from the reversing gravitational force onto him. The surrounding becomes rather tense, with black fogs, dark-blue thunder and fire gathering around the master, which then combined with him, transforming into the fearsome Terror Dopant. Upon completing revolution, Shane as the said Dopant chuckled wickedly.

* * *

Back at the battlefield…

Cyclone Metal was getting defeated due to the enemy's advantage in number and soon lied on the ground after rolling for a bit from Nasca's slash. Then, the cyan Dopant uses the mufflers on his back, which are stretchable and grab the green-grey Kamen Rider's arms, raising up in the air. Cyclone Metal struggled to break free but had trouble of doing so. "You jerk! Let me down!" yelled Kirito demandingly. "So, what should I do to you?" muttered Nasca excitedly, wondering what he wants to play or in his language, slay the Kamen Rider. However, before the cyan Dopant could do anything, Sweets strike him from behind, forcing the former to let go of the Cyclone Metal. The confectionary Dopant then went to beat up the green-grey Kamen Rider, who tried to defend himself after falling.

Of course, anyone would be mad if someone interrupted when they are in the middle of something. The same goes with Nasca when he thought Sweets was on his side. "How dare an ordinary person… get in the way of me, Nasca!" growled Nasca as he then slashed Sweets from the back for the attack just moments ago before going after the Kamen Rider. However, the confectionary Dopant intervened and attacked both Kamen Rider and the cyan Dopant. Likewise, the same occurs for Nasca as well but not Cyclone Metal because it was like that from the start after the cyan Dopant entered the fray.

At first, it was a two against one, which are the Dopants fighting Kamen Rider W. Though, because of Sweets intervention, it suddenly becomes a battle royal. Hermione, who noticed this decides she should assist her husband now that things become like this and took out her Gaia Memory. **"Taboo"**

However, before the eldest daughter of Elisabeth could do anything, she suddenly stopped and glanced around worriedly. Likewise, even the fighters on the battlefield halted their fights as well. It started with Cyclone Metal because Hiro intervened with Kirito's control. When asked why the bluenette did so, he replied that he sensed danger approaching.

Realising the incoming threat, the three fighters glanced around them as the trees started swishing violently and birds fleeing. Then, Cyclone Metal noticed something very frightening approaching from the ground. It was a dark pool with homicidal aura. Although it does not come from only the grounds but the trees and their surroundings. Then, everyone at the vicinity heard a malicious laughter, which got their attention to locate the source. The laughter came from none other than the Dopant of fear, Terror, who was floating in the air. It seems he was also responsible for these creepy-looking pools as it started bleeding from almost anywhere.

Though in a trance from the present of Terror, the fighters soon realised that the dark pools are approaching them. What makes it more fearsome is that the pools function like concentrated acid or base, corroding any obstacles in its way.

"What is this?! All I know is that it cannot be understood…" gasped Nasca in fear from the incoming threat. "It's dangerous even if you can't understand it! Touch it and you're out!" yelled Kirito, realising the horror of the situation. The dark pools then get closer and the fighters were left with no choice but to abandon their battle and flee by leaping as far as they can from it. Realising that the fighters had flee, Terror exited the field along with its pool while still laughing wickedly.

Kamen Rider W managed to escape as far as possible and hang onto a tree as Luna Metal. When the threat from Terror left, the yellow-grey Kamen Rider descended to the ground and undo the transformation. For some reason, after reverting, Kirito could not help but having trouble to breath properly. The same could be said about Hiro at the garage when he regained consciousness, whose body could not stop shaking like crazy. In other words, they were afraid, especially after witnessing how terrifying Terror was. "I can't stop shaking… Why?" Hiro muttered in fear. "Me too. And I got a rough idea what is going on" Kirito agreed and said. "What?" asked Hiro, fear about the thing his partner going to say.

"That's probably the source of our enemies. We've seen that just now" Kirito explained. "The source of our enemies?!" gasped Hiro and then realised something. "We can't just leave Ayumu and Suguha-san here! I'm heading there immediately" he yelled worriedly. "All right. In the meantime, I'm going to call them out to meet us urgently" Kirito suggested. "I'm counting on you" Hiro said before leaving the garage and the office. Likewise, Kirito even takes off the Double Driver and then leave to summon Suguha and Ayumu.

* * *

Back at the mansion…

Ayumu was still wondering around, looking for clues. As she went up the stairs, Sonoko ran towards Hiro's little sister in a hurry. "Asaka-san!" the scraggy maid called out. Ayumu immediately hides away her notebook and pen in a panic. "Did you hear? Apparently, Ashihara-san was attacked by someone" Sonoko reported. "Eh?! Keiko-san was?!" gasped Ayumu in shocked as she immediately leaves to find the patissier.

In a few minutes, Hiro's little sister rushed to the maids' meeting room after asking around from other maids. Upon arriving, she saw Keiko and Suguha resting on their chair with some of their body parts, particularly hands got bandaged. "Keiko-san! Suguha!" cried Ayumu as she approached them worriedly. "Are you two all right?"

Keiko replied with a nod while Suguha remained silent, presumably all right as well. Of course, even though Ayumu knew they were safe and sound, she felt guilty that she was not around to help during the assault. "I'm okay, Ayumu-san" assured Keiko, which made Ayumu confused as the latter looked at the former. "If we learn the identity of that monster, we might find my father, right? We might be able to find the other patissiers, right? If so… I don't want to run away" she declared. "Y-You're right" Ayumu reluctantly agreed and nodded, somehow could not believe that the client was not really that angry with her.

 _"If Keiko-san is being targeted too, then there's no doubt the culprit is in this mansion. It's someone here"_ Hiro's little sister thought as she stood while in her mind, she had Miyano, Sonoko, Shizuka, and the other workers of this mansion as the suspects. Though, she was too mused to realise Suguha approaching, not until Kirito's little sister suddenly pulled the former away from Keiko. "Ayumu. Our brothers called for us. We need to meet them urgently" whispered Suguha seriously. Ayumu was surprised about this revelation. Their brothers are calling for them? Why?

* * *

Later at the Elisabeth family gathering room…

Shane had summoned Sara, Hermione and Junnosuke to inform them about the situation that occurred at their mansion. "Looks like there's a single regular Dopant hiding among our servants" the mansion master informed.

"Oh my, then we need to clean that up" said Sara. "No. Just ignore it" Shane told them. "The only members of this mansion who know the secret of our organisation are ourselves. There is no need for us to aggravate the situation. Let's just watch for now" he ordered before leaving. Junnosuke then stares at Shane in confusion as the latter left. "Why did Otou-sama interrupted my battle?" he muttered curiously.

"The next time something happens at this mansion, why don't the two of us clean it up? This will let you restore your honour too. Okay?" Hermione suggested. "I understand…" Junnosuke replied after a moment before leaving as well. As for his wife, she had this weird grin of interest about what happened just now. _"Kamen Rider W. He'll probably appear again if he's after that Dopant. I must obtain it before Otou-sama becomes too interested"_ thought Hermione, determined to do something about the bicoloured Kamen Rider.

* * *

Simultaneously, somewhere secluded at the mansion's yard, which is near a pond…

Ayumu and Suguha arrived to where they are supposed to meet their respective big brothers. Of course, Kirito and even Hiro was there as well, though the latter seems rather cantankerous for some reason, which left Ayumu uneasy about what is going to happen. Regardless, Kirito breaks the ice by trying to explain the situation to the two little sisters. He started with what happened when Keiko was attacked since Ayumu was absent during the incident before telling the two of them about the dark presence that was in that mansion. Of course, Suguha and Ayumu became worried and afraid upon hearing that since they then realised the Elisabeth mansion is more dangerous than they thought.

Though, before anyone can say any further, the bluenette stepped forward and approached his little sister specifically. "Ayumu! Do you understand now?! You don't even know there's a Dopant here! You call this undercover investigation?! This job isn't fun and games! Our clients' safety takes priority! Those people are relying on us! If you can't do it, stop meddling and stay at home! Detectives who hurt their clients are no detectives! They're human garbage!" Hiro scolded Ayumu though he went a bit too far by referring her as something inhuman. As she was being scolded, her expression became solemnly rue and could almost cry at any moment. Regardless of what is going on, the black swordsman could not just keep quiet and approached Hiro once the bluenette went over the border with his words, especially against his own family member.

"Hey, Hiro! That's too much!" whispered Kirito, warning him. Though, the bluenette did not change one bit. He still had this cantankerous expression on him while glaring at his little sister. "I'm sorry…" Ayumu suddenly apologised in a regrettable and whimpering tone, which got the attention of the others. There was a brief silence in the tension as the pink-hair girl was about to shed tears. Out of concern, the bluenette then do head gestures towards Kirito and Suguha, telling the Kirigaya siblings to give the Oozora siblings some private moment. The mentioned two immediately understood what Hiro meant and quietly leave to let the Oozora siblings talk in private.

"How unusual… for you to be obedient" Hiro commented. Then his little sister then approaches the lake before she takes a seat on the grass. "I'm quite envious of Onii-chan. In more ways than one" Ayumu admitted. "I… don't really remember Otou-san at all. He's only around when I was very young. Afterwards, when my biological Okaa-san passed away from a disease, I was taken in to an orphanage. Otou-san never came to take or see me at all. I was wondering if he hates me. That's why…, even though it's a probation, Onii-chan being under Otou-san's care for a whole year really makes me totally jealous. I probably wanted to be acknowledged as someone unique and as good as Onii-chan or greater. But, in the end, I messed things up from being too fired up" she confessed regrettably.

Upon hearing Ayumu's background and feelings, Hiro become speechless. Even though he had been with Ayumu for at least one year, he does not know anything about her. Of course, it is not like the bluenette does not want to know but because of the guilt that he was carrying, he could not afford to ask her much of her past. In addition, it would indeed hurt Ayumu more if someone ask her about it and he believed he was in no position to ask about it. Nonetheless, he feels guilty for addressing her as human garbage without even trying to understand her feelings.

Out of instinct and apology, the bluenette came to sit next to Ayumu and then pulled her closer so that her head rested near his shoulder. His little sister was totally baffled from this sudden of affection when he was so mad at her a while ago. "Sorry, Ayumu. I said too much. I'm very sorry" Hiro apologised and sounded regrettable too. "Onii-chan…" muttered Ayumu.

"To tell you the truth, after I ended up being labelled as a terrorist and on top of that, forced to be under probation, I… feel like it's already the end of the world. I don't have any freedom to do anything and could only await my doom. It was totally painful, and I just wish someone could put an end to my misery. However, after I met and spend time with Boss, that negative thoughts blew away. That person gave me… No… Asaka Fuuto himself was the hope that saved me. That's why… I could not express how much I want to thank your Otou-san for it. Knowing Boss was a detective and a very cool one, I was determined to be like him. But like you, there's one time that I rushed to get his recognition after I got involved in the investigations. Blinded by that desire, I caused our clients, a mother and her child got hurt. He was very mad and hit me. What I said to you just now, Boss said those words at me. He's quite scary but he was cool" Hiro explained ramblingly as he strokes Ayumu's hair. The was a short silent though the bluenette decided to break it moments later. "I'm begging you, Ayumu. Stop being reckless. If anything happens to you, Okaa-san and I will be very sad. Please?" he pleaded. "Okay…" Ayumu replied in whimper and the tension was silent for a while before her brother breaks it.

"Still, because of that eccentric Commander and that creepy Dopant, I've got a tough time taking down the obsessive confectionary monster that abducted the patissiers. If that two guys appeared next time, we won't be able to capture the culprit and saved the abducted patissiers" whined Hiro.

"Hey, Onii-chan. Did you learn anything from the culprit?" asked Ayumu. "That guy said very odd things. Not to mention selfish. What's with 'I can't live without the finest sweets'? It's not like you'll die from not eating good sweets. Next time we meet, that guy will be eating our burning fists!" Hiro told her and became fired up, declared to bring down Sweets. "Finest sweets, huh?" muttered Ayumu as she mused. Then something comes into her mind when she thinks. "That's it!" Ayumu exclaimed a moment afterwards.

* * *

Later, inside Amanohara Museum…

There are people looking around at the exhibits. Shane Gerald Elisabeth was among them, though instead of a visitor, he himself was the curator of this museum. He was wondering around at this place occasionally.

"Master!" a familiar female voice called out, which got Shane's attention. It turns out to be none other than Asaka Ayumu, the new noisy maid that stands out. "I deeply apologise for following you to your workplace" she apologised.

"What is it that you would so earnestly ask for me like this?" asked Shane. "Actually, I need a favour. For tomorrow's sweets time, I'd like all the mansion's servants participate. I have a real big surprise planned!" Ayumu requested. "Oh" replied Shane, who then gave a nod of approval. "So, if you please" said Ayumu before she takes her leave.

Of course, Hiro was watching his little sister talking with Shane from afar, all the while exploring the museum before reaching to where they were. During his sightseeing, he noticed a lot of familiar looking exhibits, which most of them are modelled after Dopants that he had fought up until now, including the ones when he and Kirito fought as Kamen Rider W as well. Not to mention, the displays had the names which is the same as their Gaia Memory names accordingly. Among them are Magma, T-Rex and Anomalocaris. Though, he dismissed them as mere coincidence, mainly because it is quite normal for a museum to have such ancient relics on display.

The displays aside, Hiro become quite worried about his little sister. "That Ayumu… Dragging me into her scheme. But, at least I'm aware what she wants to do and better than her acting by herself" the bluenette muttered. Then, he glanced around and saw a model display of a very familiar, humanoid looking artefact. It was a model of an Egypt King, Pharaoh. His expression changed to shock upon looking at it. It is mainly because the model itself is almost identical to Pharaoh Dopant.

The incident that occurred last May came to his mind. It is when his mother, Haruka and friend, Ran nearly become victim to a corrupted man who only think of women as his voluptuous slaves and killed them if they disobey him. On top of that, the criminal ended up mass-slaughtering a lot of males, be it adults or children. It was indeed a nightmare for Amanohara City itself. The bluenette tell no one about this, neither his family, Asuna and the others nor Kirito, his partner as Kamen Rider W because it is not his duty to let them know about that incident. In addition, it is a frightening event that he wanted to bury deep within his heart and never to be mentioned again.

"Aren't these things magnificent?" a male voice suddenly whispered near the bluenette. Hiro was brought back to reality and glanced to where the voice came from before jumping backward out of shock. It was the mansion master that Ayumu talked to a while ago.

"I am the curator of this museum. Shane Gerald Elisabeth" Shane introduced himself. It is only natural that when someone introduced him/herself, you should do the same. However, the bluenette remained quiet and could not stop sweating. Even though he wanted to say something, the words do not come out from his lips. Regardless, the curator does not mind about it, presumably because he thought the bluenette was at a lost for words to greet someone as great as a museum keeper and decided to continue speaking. "It's wonderful, don't you think? These 'memories' forged by the Earth"

The bluenette glanced around and somehow, he did not know how to react. His body was shaking too much from fear. Either way, the curator just smiled. "So, I must take my leave" Shane said as he leaves but no before muttering, "I look forward to tomorrow"

Hiro only watches the curator leave without even saying anything at the latter. Before he even realised it, the bluenette was all alone and his body was shaking from terror. _"What's that man?! My body can't stop shaking. I am afraid of him? Why? Could it be that frightening Dopant…?"_ Hiro pondered terrifyingly before he felt someone put his/her hand on his shoulder.

"AAAHH!" the bluenette suddenly jumped out of impulse, believing the touch was a threat and yelled frighteningly. He ended up readying to defend himself by raising his fists in a cross before looking to what touch him. Though, his horrified expression calms down when he saw who was responsible to it. It was Suguha and Kirito, where the former had her right hand to be touching something. Though, the Kirigaya siblings look quite worried when they saw Hiro's condition. "Suguha-san? Kirito?" muttered Hiro.

"What's wrong? You look pale, Hiro-san" Suguha stated. "Did nothing happen?" asked Kirito. "Eh? No. It's nothing" Hiro lied and decided to change the topic while acting normally. "More importantly, I have something to tell ask from the two of you" he said before explaining Ayumu's scheme. Upon hearing that, the Kirigaya siblings became dumbstruck.

"Eh?! Ayumu's going to lure out the criminal during tomorrow Sweets Time?! That's too reckless! She's going to get herself killed!" Kirito argued. "I know. But, she insisted on repenting for today's mistake. She was so serious about it so…" Hiro continued. "You allow her to do it" deduced Suguha, somehow had an idea what the bluenette was going to say.

"Sorry. I wish I could help her for that event tomorrow, but she wanted me to do lookup on the real culprit in case she failed" Hiro apologised and told them. "I see… In other words, you wanted us to keep an eye on her and do something if the situation gone worst" Kirito assumed. "Yes" confirmed Hiro. "All right. We'll do something. You focused on trying to find out about the culprit and the Memory used" proclaimed Kirito. "Ayumu is quite forceful and straightforward in doing things but that is her good point. She can't be ignored. As fellow little sisters, I'll help her with whatever I can" Suguha volunteered. "Thank you very much" Hiro thanked them with a bow.

* * *

 **28th July 2060, Friday**

Inside the garage…

Hiro had been trying to identify the Gaia Memory used by criminal, all by himself since last night. After analysing all the available information about the Dopant, like what ingredient and confectionary was on the body along with its attack, he come to one conclusion while writing on the whiteboards. The name of the Gaia Memory is Sweets.

"No doubt the Memory is Sweets. Beginning Lookup" Hiro said before going into the Planetary Bookshelves. In a glimpse after focusing all his might, the bluenette found himself in an infinite space full of bookshelves. "Keyword: Patissier, Ashihara Juzo, Ashihara Keiko" the bluenette started his lookup by inputting the keywords. Each keyword eliminate a lot of the books and it works well with the first and second. However, the third keyword did not really eliminate most of it because it was redundant. Currently, there are still hundreds of shelves around the bluenette, rendering him unable to proceed further.

"The keywords are too similar for me to eliminate most of the books" muttered Hiro as he started to ponder. Then, an idea was generated when he recalled something. "Wait, I'm sure that Dopant said something odd… I think it was… Rich flavouring that makes my tongue dance" Hiro mumbled before inputting a keyword in the form of phrase. "This is quite an unusual phrase" he said. The mentioned keyword was surprisingly useful because it quickly eliminates the other unnecessary books, leaving the bluenette only one book left. It is a book with the title 'WRITER' on it. "Found it!" Hiro exclaimed before taking the book from the result of elimination by keywords and started reading it.

* * *

Simultaneously, at Elisabeth Mansion…

Inside the dining room, the family members and the servants are on standby at their respective tables. Every one of them was served some pastry dishes to be consumed during Sweets Time. At that time, the Elisabeth family are sitting down while the servants are still standing. Suguha was among them as well but Ayumu was nowhere to be seen. This time, she had a shinai concealed in a long grey-green bag on the floor where she was standing. Simultaneously, Kirito was peeking through the window from outside, observing the situation. The mansion's master then stood up to initiate the event.

"So, everyone. Today, we are doing something special. Please eat" Shane invited. "Family and servants. Let us all enjoy this ultimate flavour!" he said before sitting down to enjoy his meal. Hermione, however, was surprised at this sudden event. Her father invited the servants to join in their Sweets Time, which is something very unusual. "That includes the chef and maids too?" guessed Hermione. "Indeed. It seems something interesting will happen" Shane confirmed before taking a bite of his pastry. Likewise, even everyone else started to eat their meals in front of them.

A moment after they began, everyone had their attention attracted to the door on the balcony that was suddenly opened. The one who did that was none other than Asaka Ayumu herself while holding a mop.

"A-Asaka-san!" exclaimed Miyano. "You again? For a mere maid, aren't you goofing around too much?" questioned Hermione, annoyed from these playful antics of the new maid. "I'm not just a mere maid!" corrected Ayumu confidently, which made everyone else, except Suguha and Keiko, confused. Then, like magic, she pulled off her maid outfit, revealing that she was wearing another outfit. That new outfit consisted of white shirt inside a long grey coat, brown bowtie on her neck, black long pants and black shoes. Based on how bulky she slightly become from that clothing, her outfit can be considered to make her look like a detective.

Kirito and even Suguha were speechless from seeing what Ayumu just did. It is lucky enough she already had another layer or else people mistaken to be doing public stripping. Of course, even anyone would be and that goes to everyone in the dining room. "A beautiful maid is merely my disguise" Ayumu started as she stepped forward. "The identity is that I am the Famous Detective Asaka Ayumu! The culprit of the serial kidnapping incident is here!" she proclaimed.

Upon hearing that, everyone in the room became dumbstruck. Though, for Suguha and Kirito, the two puts on a face palm from this obviously lame method of trying to put on a detective show. "Oh-la-la. You're too reckless, Ayumu" muttered Kirito. _"For god sake"_ thought Suguha in a sighed.

"Then, who's the culprit?" asked Sonoko as she stood. At that time, Hiro's little sister is walking down the stairs and approach the dining area. "Let me tell you. The true culprit… is you!" Ayumu declared as she pointed out her finger to someone. The direction was pointing at the chubby maid, Nakamura Shizuka. "Nakamura-san!" she exclaimed. Upon realising that, the chubby maid panicked. "M-Me?! No! Wait! I'm not!" Shizuka denied. "That's what all criminals say!" retorted Ayumu. "This isn't funny! Where's your proof?!" snorted Shizuka before pointing at the detective girl, demanding for evidence. "You look kind of round… and you're always eating snacks… I thought that seemed kind of suspicious, maybe" explained Ayumu, unconvincingly and sounded more like a joke. "That's completely circumstantial!" barked Shizuka.

Then, sound of a feminine giggler can be heard and that belongs to none other than Sara. On top of that, even Junnosuke seemed quite amused from this. "This girl sure is funny!" guffaw Sara.

"Are you really a famous detective?" asked Junnosuke sarcastically. "More importantly, you can't judge a criminal by appearance. That's rude" Hermione pointed out seriously. "Well, my thinking is that the culprit has an abnormal fondness for sweets. To lure and catch that person, I asked Master to gather everyone here" explained Ayumu. "What? That's the surprise?" asked Shane and he sounded disappointed. "I thought you were referring to the sweet"

"Yes. The one who made the sweets was me" Ayumu admitted jokingly but unfortunately, no one laughed at it because it does not sound funny. However, something else happened instead. Someone purposely broke a plate with pastries on a tantrum by slamming it to the floor. On top of that, the same person even throws up the consumed sweets, believing the pastry was dirty. Of course, everyone else noticed who did that when they heard the noise of a broken plate.

Simultaneously, Kirito received a phone call from his partner. "Kirito, I know who the real culprit is. The Dopant used that magazine article ranking to serially kidnap those patissiers. The culprit is a writer known for being famous travelling food critic. 'Rich flavouring that makes my tongue dance,' is their catch phrase. The writer's name is…" Hiro explained before leaving a trail to say the name of the culprit.

While the bluenette was explaining the details to Kirito, even the former's little sister had figured it out as well, announcing her deduction to everyone in the dining room. "I knew the culprit was you. The only maids who most often served sweets to Master and the others during Sweets Time are Head Maid, Nakamura-san and you. Head Maid is already in the age to avoid taking sugars as much as possible. Slightly chubby people like Nakamura-san, who likes eating does not really care much about the details of their food so often. If the foods are edible and doesn't taste worse, it is still fine. Considering that, the only possible culprit who's too obsessed with eating luxurious pastries can only be you…" Ayumu elucidated.

"Sazaki Sonoko!" the Oozora siblings exclaimed in unison as each respectively said the name of the culprit to the people they are talking. What they said turns out to be true as apart from everyone else in the room, it was Sonoko that was trying to throw up the pastries Ayumu had made.

"You made me eat that?! You let my golden tongue touch your dirty sweets?! Unforgivable!" Sonoko berated before growling at Ayumu. Then, the female patissier approach the detective girl while looking at the revealed culprit. "You took my father? Give my father back!" demanded Keiko. "Shut up!" barked Sonoko as she took out the Sweets Memory, which upon activating it, the Living Connector Port appeared on her neck. **"Sweets"**

The scraggy maid inserted the Memory and she transformed into Sweets. Upon seeing Sonoko transformed into the Dopant, the other servants, except Suguha, Keiko and Ayumu, immediately make a run for it and screamed in fear. Suguha, with her grey-green bag hanging at her back, quickly rushed to where Ayumu and Keiko was, trying to fend their clients. As for the Elisabeth family members, they did not even flinch since they are all Dopant themselves. Sweets then shoots out a sticky cream, which hit Keiko and tried to pull her in. Noticing that Sonoko was going after the same target again, Suguha and Ayumu grabbed onto the patissier, trying to get her off from the Dopant's cream.

"You two are coming as well!" declared Sonoko, using the full force of the cream and managed to pull all the three of them. "I'm being eaten by the pastry!" yelled Ayumu as they were pulled before all three of them are completely covered in cream before being eaten by Sweets, whose belly grew quite chubby from the humans inside them. Afterwards, Sweets proceeds to make her escape. As for Junnosuke and Hermione, both glanced at each other and gets off the chair to do their duty of cleaning up the mess, as in do something about Sazaki Sonoko.

* * *

Later, at the mansion's yard…

Sweets was leaping from one place to another, fleeing from the mansion. Despite being overweight from putting the girls into her body, Sonoko was still fast as a Dopant. Kirito is already pursuing her when he realised that Sweets was getting faster for humans to catch up.

"Let's go, Hiro" the black swordsman declared as he puts on the Double Driver on his waist, readying to transform while running. Of course, Hiro was ready as well.

However, what the two did know was that Junnosuke and Hermione had just arrived at scene near to where Kirito was. Both noticed what Kirito was wearing on his waist. "That Driver… It can't be… Don't tell me that guy is…" trailed Junnosuke in disbelief, having an idea who Kirito was.

 **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" Kirito and Hiro exclaimed in unison as they initiated the transformation procedures, transforming the former into Kamen Rider W, which the couple witnessed this. **"Cyclone Joker"**

"I see… He is…" Junnosuke muttered, realising the identity of that stalker. "Defeat him… dear" ordered Hermione as the couple puts on their Memory Driver before taking out their Golden Gaia Memories. **"Taboo" "Nasca"** The husband and wife inserted the Memories into their Driver, transforming them into Dopants.

Taboo immediately flew while generating multiple energy bombs before lobbing them at Cyclone Joker. The green-black Kamen Rider was surprised from the sudden ambush, forcing them to roll over the floor because of the impact. Then, Cyclone Joker looked to where the attack came from and saw the responsible culprits. Hiro immediately recognised Taboo because he had encountered her before. "You're from Begins Night Commander!" gulped Hiro. "What?!" gasped Kirito.

"Oh, that's unusual. Here I thought it's our first-time meeting. I guess I should say this. It's been awhile, whoever you are. If you have met me before, you haven't forgotten how frightening I am" greeted Taboo before she launches another energy bomb at Cyclone Joker, who immediately dodged by rolling.

"This is bad…" muttered Hiro worriedly. Then, Nasca suddenly charged at the green-black Kamen Rider, attempting to slash him repeatedly. Cyclone Joker immediately backs off and tried to avoid from the incoming consecutive attacks. However, the green-black Kamen Rider was unable to avoid getting hit because of the pilling anxiety from this situation.

"Why do we keep facing commander-level ones?!" exclaimed Kirito, trying his best to evade. "Who cares about that?! We must do something about them quick or our sisters will be goners!" Hiro warned seriously.

Throughout the next five minutes, Kamen Rider W was forced to be on the defensive, mainly because Nasca keeps attacking him heads on, with Taboo providing support by launching energy bombs from her hands. She does this when Cyclone Joker keeps his distance too far from Nasca.

Kamen Rider W becomes exhausted from dodging and defending, not to mention that his opponent were Commanders. On top of that, their coordination is perfect that Cyclone Joker had trouble with the duo and he ended up breathing heavily after all that evading.

Nasca and Taboo approaches, attending to finish off Kamen Rider W using energy blasts. However, to the commanders' dismay, RevolGarry suddenly came out of nowhere, knocking the Dopants duo and rushed to Cyclone Joker's aid. "That was a close call" Hiro muttered. "Yeah, we don't have time to deal with them" Kirito pointed out and rushed to the giant vehicle. RevolGarry opened the hatches, revealing Hard-Boilder bike on standby. Cyclone Joker leaped and rode on it, but not before adding a booster to the vehicle before launching at Mach speed.

Coincidentally, Nasca and Taboo are on the bike's path during launching and barely avoided it after Hard-Boilder charged at them. "After him!" ordered Taboo. As commanded, Nasca pursue after Cyclone Joker on foot, by running of course. Normally it is impossible for human to catch up with engine-based vehicles when speeding up but that does not apply to Dopants. While chasing, Nasca launches a few energy blasts at the Kamen Rider but the latter noticed this and managed to avoid all of them.

Then, as a counterattack, Cyclone Joker turned Hard-Boilder facing Nasca while the vehicle itself still moving in reverse before activating the launchers near the front wheels, which most of the shots hit the cyan Dopant and stopped his movement. "This city's garbage! I won't lose to someone from the likes of you!" barked Junnosuke angrily as he charged towards the Kamen Rider. "Later!" Kirito bid farewell sarcastically by waving his hand before turning Hard-Boilder to the opposite direction. Then, Kamen Rider W disengages the boosters from Hard-Boilder while speeding up, causing those upgrades to crash at the chasing Nasca. The cyan Dopant was knocked out from this and he roared in anger while punching the ground from frustration because his opponent uses such a cheap trick to escape. Of course, Nasca is not the only one that witnessed this, which causes him to turn behind and saw his wife, Taboo. "You call yourself the owner of the Nasca Memory?! Useless guy!" Hermione reprimanded and launches energy bombs at Nasca, sending him flying to the trees and the latter got knocked out from this.

* * *

A few minutes earlier…

While Cyclone Joker was preoccupied with the Commanders, Sweets arrived at a secluded, small cottage in the forest, which is still within the mansion's yard. This is where Sazaki Sonoko lived and the said person, in Dopant form was at the kitchen. There, all the kidnapped patissiers, including Ashihara Juzo were present and their hands were tied to the wall with cemented creams.

Sweets, then vomits the girls inside her body, where the trio were stained with creams all over their clothing and bodies. Ayumu and the others coughed a few times after being released, presumably because some of the cream ended up in their mouth or because the smell of the cream was not very pleasant. Technically, it is not, especially when a cream is within from one's one body.

The details aside, the girls then glanced around them, noticing that it was a kitchen because they are utensils, microwave and other equipment used for cooking. "Keiko…" a male voice called out, though it sounded weak. Keiko turned to find the source and saw that it was her father, Juzo. He was tied to the wall by the cemented cream along with the other patissiers. "Father? Father!" cried Keiko as she tried to approach her father but unfortunately the culprit, who already untransformed, puts her hand on the patissier's shoulder, stopping and surprised the former.

"Now, you and your father will serve me here eternally" proclaimed Sonoko with a smirk. "You… Why are you doing this to us?" questioned Keiko nervously, could not comprehend why this scraggy maid started this incident. The culprit pushed the female patissier on a tantrum to the floor before standing up.

"I wanted to be a maker, not a critic. But, my restaurant, the best in Amanohara, didn't even last a year before closing. That's when I learned… Criticising and creating are very separate things. But… with this, I can make the greatest flavours mine alone" explained Sonoko before she laughed wickedly for a while, with the Sweets Memory in her hand. **"Sweets"**

The culprit then inserted the Memory to her neck, transforming her into that confectionary Dopant again and she approached Keiko, who backs off in fear. "Now, an eternal Sweets-Time just for me. But, before that..." proclaimed Sonoko before turning to where Ayumu was, who gasped in surprise. "I will cut you up for dirtying my tongue!" Sweets angrily declared as she transformed her right hand into a machete like blade, albeit coloured in orange, red and yellow.

The detective girl realised what the culprit meant, which is the sweets that the former made and caused the latter to consume it. "Ah? You remember that, Sazaki-san?" asked Ayumu with an awkward chuckle as she backs off slowly. "Of course! My tongue is golden! Tasting something dirty like that is a huge disgrace!" barked Sonoko.

"That's just your selfish delusion!" shouted Suguha, which got the Dopant's attention. It turns out that Kirito's little sister, who had her shinai revealed from the bag and swung it at Sweets, surprising her as the latter got hit.

Afterwards, Suguha proceeds to smack the confectionary Dopant repeatedly non-stopped with all her might, while trying her best not to leave any opening. Fate was on her side though unfortunately, it only lasted a minute at best. Getting fed up of being beaten by the kendo fighter, Sweets proceed to parry Suguha's consecutive strikes with her arms before shooting a blast of cream from her left hand, which send Kirito's little sister flying towards the wall near the abducted patissiers. Suguha got stuck and she was unable to free herself even though she struggles to do so because the cream quickly frozed like cement.

"Suguha!" exclaimed Ayumu. "Just be good and stay there for a while! I'll deal with you after this!" barked Sonoko before turning her attention to Ayumu once more. "Now, I'll cut you for sure this time" she declared and approaches Hiro's little sister, with the machete hand ready to cut things anytime.

"I taste lousy! If you ate me, I would taste bad!" yelled Ayumu panicky as she tried to back off. "I know that! After cutting you up, I will turn you into a painting on the wall!" proclaimed Sonoko angrily as she began swinging her machete at Hiro's little sister. Ayumu, desperate to protect herself, takes the nearby frying pan and used it as a shield. However, that idea did not really help because Sweets was quite powerful that the pan was sliced like an onion without any dent. Realising how screwed things had become, Ayumu could only yelled in fear and backs off, as much as she could until there is no space for her to move because she was already at the wall. "You're kidding me! I don't hear anything about this!" Ayumu shouted frighteningly as Sweets growled while approaching the former.

Suddenly, someone knocked down the kitchen door with a kick, which got everyone's attention, particularly Sweets. The one responsible for that was none other than Cyclone Joker, who had just arrived at the scene. "You…!" gasped Sonoko, surprise to see the green-black Kamen Rider was at her base.

"Kamen Rider W" Kirito completed the sentence. "You're here! But how?!" yelled Ayumu in relief, wondering how her big brother and Kirito knew where the girls were. "This" Hiro spoke and had Cyclone Joker pointed at his own left wrist before pointing at Ayumu herself. While he was speaking, Spider Shock came crawling on Cyclone Joker's right-side shoulder and waved at Hiro's little sister. Ayumu then looked at where her big brother said and saw a Spider Shock's transmitter, blinking on her clothing, specifically, closer to the left wrist. She became awed before glancing back at Cyclone Joker. "That's how it is" Hiro said.

Immediately, the green-black Kamen Rider charged towards Sweets and attacked with a kick. The confectionary Dopant defend herself from that attack before proceeding to counterattack. Nevertheless, Cyclone Joker avoided all of those and proceeds to knock Sweets with a kick, sending her to crash at the obstacles behind and ruined them in the process.

The confectionary Dopant then gets up while realising how terrible things had become. "Darn you!" growled Sonoko before she desperately rushed after Keiko, presumably trying to take her away or use her as a hostage. Cyclone Joker was horrified from this and tried to stop the culprit.

However, Ayumu quickly gets up and grabbed a nearby chair before smacking Sweets with all her might while roaring. Even though the chair was broken from doing that, the confectionary Dopant was knocked to the floor. This moment causes everyone around, especially Cyclone Joker to be surprised as Hiro's little sister threw aside the piece of the broken chair that she held. "Don't lay a finger on my client!" barked Ayumu angrily as she panted.

As for Hiro, seeing his little sister action causes him to remember something from the past. The bluenette saw his late Boss, Asaka Fuuto beating a bunch of criminals all by himself during one of his requests, which Hiro had joined by then. Though, afterwards, he started to see hallucinations on his own little sister. He could see Asaka Fuuto's shadow overlapping Ayumu. Though the message does not mean Ayumu was her father. It means, her action and words remind the bluenette about her father. "Boss?" muttered Hiro. "Hiro! Now's our chance!" Kirito exclaimed, which the bluenette was brought back to reality and realised he got a duty to do. "Okay" Hiro replied and took out the Heat Memory. **"Heat" "Heat Joker"** Kamen Rider W changes his right side from green to red.

Afterwards, Heat Joker raises his right fists, charging it with flames before grabbing the knocked down Sweets. "Thanks for the help. Take care of the rest, please!" Hiro thanked and ordered, which Ayumu replied with a nod before Heat Joker takes away Sweets, dragging the confectionary Dopant to battle outside.

Ayumu then went to check up on her client. "Are you okay?" asked Ayumu worriedly. "Thank you, Ayumu-san. You're more amazing than I thought" thanked Keiko and complimented the detective girl. "Now, let's free everyone" Ayumu said, which Keiko responded with a nod as they stood before trying to search for any items that can break down the cemented cream on the tied people.

* * *

At the forest…

Heat Joker managed to drag the confectionary Dopant far enough so that no one can interrupt the battle. "Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito declared and pointed out at Sweets after throwing her towards a tree. Then the red-black Kamen Rider charged at the confectionary Dopants and started attacking with a right punch, followed by a left kick then a roundhouse punch, which hits her.

Sweets tried to counter with a punch, but Heat Joker avoids it and retaliate with a left kick. Then, the red-black Kamen Rider launch a reverse slapping, which the confectionary Dopant intercepts it with her right arms. Later, she countered with a left uppercut punch before doing another thump with the same hand. Though, Heat Joker countered with a left kick on her stomach, which forces Sweets to back off a few steps, twice before landing a flying fiery right punched at her face. The confectionary Dopant was knocked down and rolled on the floor before she stood once more. Then, she backs off and transformed her whole body into creamed and vanished to the ground.

Heat Joker was surprised at this and wonder what is going on. "She disappeared?!" gasped Kirito as he glanced the surrounding. "No. She's blending herself with the surrounding to ambush us" Hiro explained. "What should we do?" asked Kirito. "Put Luna Memory into Bat Shot" answered Hiro. "Okay" replied Kirito. Then, Bat Shot in its Live Mode came to Heat Joker's aid and the Memory Gadget was grabbed by the Kamen Rider.

 **"Luna"** Heat Joker took out Bat Pseudo Memory and replaced it with Luna Memory. **"Luna. Maximum Drive"** The red-black Kamen Rider lets go of the Memory Gadget as it flew and started flashing repeatedly around at the spot where Sweets disappeared.

With each flashing, it stuns any living beings other than plants, regardless from the use of camouflage. Then, something started to emerge from one of the trees, which then revealed itself as Sweets. It seems that the flashings stunned and forces her to come out of hiding.

"Here's a free piping-hot dessert for you!" proclaimed Kirito as he took out the Joker Memory and puts it into the Maximum Slot. **"Joker. Maximum Drive"** Heat Joker presses the Maximum button and then ascended with both fists charged up, which caught Sweets by surprise as she looked up.

"Joker Grenade!" yelled Hiro and Kirito. As the red-black Kamen Rider rises into the air, their body splits up, with Joker side in lead followed by Heat side. The left side punched first before Heat landed a fiery fist on Sweets, triggering an explosion before the separated bodies joined back. When the detonation subsided, Sazaki Sonoko fell onto the ground and became unconscious, with the broken Sweets Memory next to her. "How's that? It tasted pretty good, right?" Hiro asked though he does not need to know the answer because the culprit had fainted.

Afterwards, Kamen Rider proceeds with contacting the police to capture Sazaki Sonoko before returning to the cottage. There, Ayumu and Keiko had managed to free Suguha and the abducted patissiers. Hiro's little sister noticed Heat Joker was there and waved at him before giving a thumbs up. "You did it, Ayumu" Hiro muttered.

* * *

An hour later at the mansion…

After the police had finished taking care of the culprit and the victims. The Elisabeth family are resting up after being interrogated for hiding the criminal within their residence. Though at the gathering room, it was only Sara and her sister, Hermione.

"That detective girl was pretty amusing, wasn't she?" Sara stated, which raise irritation on Hermione. "Kamen Rider-san seems pretty tough. He might be more useful than our family's son-in-law" she pointed out with sarcasm, which causes her sister to glare at the former.

"Take a good look at whom you are provoking, Sara" Hermione warned seriously, which causes her little sister to be irritated and immediately changed to her innocent persona. "I'm so sorry, Onee-sama! I had no idea that would bother you…" apologised Sara before her sister stood up from the chair. "I punished him well. Proper training is fundamental for a husband" Hermione told her little sister.

As Hermione mentioned this, her husband was taking a shower. Though, his naked body got bruises all over. On top of that, just at the back, one of the injuries is very bad and seems swollen.

* * *

 **29th July 2060, Saturday**

At Ashihara Pastry Café, the Kirigaya and Oozora Siblings are having Double Siblings Date, forced by Ayumu. Now, those four are taking their seats at a table were served some cakes and drinks. Though, other than Ayumu herself, the other three does not seemed to touch their cakes. They were having some conversations, which would grabbed attention but luckily, they are currently the only customers there.

 _"A mansion of sweets and a full attack from commanders. What a busy case. Well, the clients' smiles make it all worthwhile. As usual, Ayumu is busy pretending to be chief of the office. Though, now she drags Hiro, me and Sugu to eat sweets at Ashihara Pastry Café"_ thought Kirito annoyingly.

"Ayumu, you really have no delicacy. I can't believe you're in the mood to eat sweets so soon after going through all that" Hiro pointed out in disbelief. "Why not? Sweets things are best for mental fatigue. And I'm mentally tired right now" explained Ayumu. "Then, why are you dragging us too?" whined Suguha. "I want to know that" Hiro added.

"Well… I just thought of doing a Double Siblings date. Onii-chan and I asides, look at those two. Suguha and Kirito-kun looks like a couple. I bet people won't believe they were siblings" Ayumu explained. Hearing such delightful comment makes Suguha blushed in embarrassment and turns away from her big brother. As for Kirito, he turns away from his little sister as well. His face does not turn red or maybe he pretended to, but he is embarrassed about it, especially when someone commented them in such a way.

"I don't really mind about that, but do we really need to have sweet things like cakes for this date?" asked Hiro sceptically. "To be honest, I'm not in the mood for pastries" Kirito admitted. "Me too. Getting eaten by food makes me tired and lose my appetite" Suguha added with a sigh.

"Geez, everyone, you're thinking too much. Don't think too much and just eat!" whined Ayumu. The rest of them keep quiet, not wanting to say any further to someone who does not know to read the situation. "Here, you can have mine. I'm okay with not eating cakes" Hiro, with a flat tone, invited and shoved his plate of cake to his little sister, to her dismay.

"That's no good, Onii-chan. Sustenance is right before your very eyes. Don't be picky and eat it or else God will get mad at you" Ayumu rambled. "Now you're lecturing me for being picky about food? In any case, you can have my cake" Hiro retorted and told her.

"Don't be like that. Here, I'll feed one for you" said Ayumu as she uses the fork on Hiro's plate and took some of the cake to feed her big brother. "Are you stupid? There's no way I'm going to do…" Hiro stated before he was interrupted with Ayumu shoving some of the cake into his mouth, making him chewed it reluctantly. The bluenette remained silent even after he finished chewing. "How does it taste?" asked Ayumu. "Tasty…" Hiro mumbled, which made Ayumu cheered excitedly. As for Kirito and Suguha, they were wondering if the bluenette was saying that out of pity.

Suddenly, Ayumu then give a kiss to Hiro's cheek, which made the bluenette was caught by surprise and his face turned slightly red. The same could be said to the Kirigaya siblings. "A-Ayumu! What was that for?!" Hiro stutteringly asked before he was being pulled by Ayumu, who started clinging onto his arms. "Isn't it obvious? My gratitude. For saving me" she said. "Hey, hey. Kirito and Suguha-san are watching. I'm so embarrassed here!" whispered Hiro anxiously, somehow awkward from being seen like this by the Kirigaya siblings. "It's fine!" whined Ayumu as she clings more into her big brother, which made the bluenette puts on a face palm of embarrassment.

Upon seeing how affectionate the Oozora siblings was, Suguha then turned to her brother, who was still staring at them. Then, to Kirito's surprise, his little sister takes his hand into hers. Of course, the black swordsman also noticed her face was slightly red. "Sugu?" muttered Kirito. "Um… O-Onii-chan. T-Thank you for coming to my rescue. I…" Sugu stutteringly tried to thank her big brother but somehow could not say her sentence properly because she was nervous. Kirito then proceeds to give a pat on Suguha with his other hand, to her surprise. "Say no more. We're siblings. It's only natural for me to do so. Hiro's the same. We'll do anything we can to protect you two. That's our job as your big brothers" explained Kirito.

"Onii-chan…" muttered Suguha heartfully, somehow does not what to reply. Though, Kirito only replied with a nod, giving the sign that he already understood her. Afterwards, Suguha proceeds to embrace her big brother, who happily returns the act by doing the same. Hiro noticed this and felt happy that things turns out well for the Kirigaya siblings too. The bluenette then glanced to his little sister.

 _"This case was solved thanks to our siblings. Kirito and I did not do much other than defeating the Dopant and confirming the truth. Suguha-san did her job well to keep things in check. As for Ayumu, despite getting carried away initially, she did an awesome stride of improvement. Looks like I don't need to meddle much with her anymore. Ayumu had her own strengths, something that only Boss's daughter inherited. She became stronger than what I thought. I got to be stronger and do my best to support her in any way I can. To do that, first, I need to accept and explained to her about that day, Begins Night. That time for me to do so is approaching"_ Hiro pondered to himself, determined to tell Ayumu about his past when the time comes.

 **Next one will be Fang Joker debut. Though, as stated by one of my reviewers, I would try to have the SAO Characters plays the role more instead, probably Asuna and Kirito will be involved in the next chapter. Have not planned anything yet but I'm sure something will come up.**

 **Oh, for those who had noticed, I've updated the cover image. To be honest, I feel very proud of it. Why? This is the first time I make an original cover image by trying to merge transparent images at Power Point and then just crop the Print Screen Shot. I also somehow managed to find, for the first time for myself, a full version Photo Shop to get rid of the backgrounds for certain pictures.**


	7. No Logic Decisions Fang Joker Debut

**16th August 2060, Monday**

In Amanohara, there were news of a trio robbers using Gaia Memories responsible for robbing jewelleries from a lot of shops, spreading around. Those robbers wore black mask and they had yellow eyes. The nicknames of the wearing black, dark green, and grey uniforms are Bob (A), Bobby (B) and Bobo (C) respectively. The name of their gang was Bob Robbers, with Bob himself as the leader. All of them had Gaia Memories of the same type, which is Cockroach.

Currently, that gang was at an abandoned warehouse, in their Dopant form celebrating over the stolen goods and bragging how awesome they were at committing this crime repeatedly without getting caught. On top of that, those criminals even acclaimed themselves that no one will ever find their hiding place.

Except, that someone or two from Asaka Detective Agency does caught up to find the hideout. It was none other than Kirito and Asuna. Those two are presently lying low behind the steel drums nearby the back entrance. Though, from that position, they can still see the robbers.

"They're there. It's like Day and Night said" Kirito muttered. "Day and Night? Those high-school informants? How come they know about this? There's no high-school students involved at all" asked Asuna curiously. "From what I heard, there is a rumour about some strange voices around this area at night. Apparently, a female student passed by and heard them when returning home from club activities. She was scared and warn her friends not to pass by here. Plus, people rarely come here. It is indeed an ideal hideout for robbers to lie low" explained Kirito in a low tone. "I see…" Asuna reply.

Suddenly, wind started blowing near the couple, causing it to carry dust from the ground into the air. By chance, some of them ended up entering Kirito's nose, causing him to sneeze out loud by accident from the clogging. Asuna was surprised from this. Of course, this action just gave away their position, attracting the robbers' attention. "Who's there?!" Bob barked. "Oh no!" gasped Asuna. "They've heard us" said Kirito. "Show yourselves!" Bobby demanded.

Then, Kirito came out from hiding and revealed himself to them. Of course, he had Asuna stay hidden and let him handle this. "That's quite a strategy. Bob Robbers. Using this place as your hideout. No wonder the police couldn't find you. Plus, Cockroach Memories gave you guys the agility to escape from the police in a flash" Kirito told the gang. "Who're you?!" questioned Bobo.

"Kirito, a detective" Kirito introduced himself, which made Cockroach C surprised. "D-Detective?! What should we do, Boss?! Our hideout was found!" gasped Bobo panicky. "Don't panic! He's alone! We'll just silence him right here, right now!" proclaimed Bob.

"Hold it right there!" a familiar female voice suddenly yelled, which got the robbers' attention. Of course, even Kirito was surprised because the one who yelled that was none other than Asuna herself. She came out from hiding and stood next to Kirito even though he told her to stay put. "I won't let you hurt Kirito-kun! I'll be your opponent!" Asuna declared.

There was a short pause after the Flash said that. The Dopants glanced at each other before looking back to where Kirito and Asuna was. Then, the silence was broken by the leader, Cockroach A himself. "I'm scared! Run! Run for your lives… because it's a high-school girl" Bob said sarcastically by pretending to scream for help before he and the other robbers started laughing. Obviously, they are mocking Asuna and underestimate her just because they think she looks like a high-school girl.

Asuna and Kirito can see that as well. "Asuna. Stay back. I'll…" Kirito said as he took out the Double Driver and Joker Memory. However, his girlfriend snatched those items from his hands, to his surprise. "Hey, Asuna!" Kirito called out, but his girlfriend ignores him. On top of that, she even equipped the Double Driver to her waist, which becomes a belt and another identical one appeared on Hiro's waist, who was on standby at the Agency's secret garage.

Of course, the bluenette did not know who was wearing the Driver currently because he had presumed it was always Kirito. "Oh, here it comes" Hiro muttered as he readied himself to transform ignorantly.

"Let's bring these robbers down, Hiro-kun" declared Asuna, whose voice echoed in Hiro's mind. The bluenette becomes surprised upon hearing this and realised the one who wore the Driver was not Kirito, but his girlfriend, Asuna. "Eh? Asuna-san?!" gasped Hiro. "What's the meaning of this?"

"Questions later. We got to transform" Asuna said. "Wait, I don't get any say in this?" asked Hiro again, sceptical to do what he was just told. "Just do it!" Asuna screamed in his mind as they contacted through telepathy. "What a scary Koinyoubou. Sorry, but I must refuse" Hiro muttered and apologised politely through the same method. Asuna, who is losing her patience with the bluenette's antics, started mashing the button on the Joker Memory. **"Joker. Joker. Joker. Joker. Joker. Joker"**

This in turn causes Hiro to feel pain in his ears, mainly because whenever Kirito equipped the Double Driver and uses the left-side Memories of W, the former heard it from afar. Since Asuna was button mashing the Memory, the bluenette could feel someone keep yelling at his ears non-stop. "Okay! Okay! I'll do it! So please stop!" Hiro pleaded desperately, which Asuna then stops and responded with a snort. The bluenette took out his green Gaia Memory, readying to transform with the Flash.

 **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" both Hiro and Asuna yelled as they pointed their Memories to the left and right respectively. The bluenette insert the Cyclone Memory, which digitally transferred to the Double Driver on the Flash's side before collapsing. Asuna pushed the Cyclone Memory inside and then puts the Joker Memory onto the remaining slot before spreading the driver apart into a W shape. **"Cyclone Joker"**

Asuna transformed into Kamen Rider W this time and not Kirito. Even the black swordsman was surprised from this. He was not expecting his girlfriend to pull off something like this. Regardless, her transformation caught the attention of those robbers and they become surprised as well. "Ka-Kamen Rider!?" those trio gasped. "Now, count up your sins!" Asuna declared as she pointed her left hand towards the Dopants and Hiro also follow suit after she said it without telling him.

Then, Cyclone Joker started charging towards the Cockroaches and vice versa to fight. Even though it is Asuna's first time fighting as W and there are three enemies, she was able to keep up with it in hand-to-hand combat. To be specific, she was the one who did all the moving and fighting.

Hiro _did_ plan to take control since the situation was unexpected and it was a female who transformed with him. However, Asuna was able to keep the three Dopants at bay and on top of that, predicted their moves when they started moving in a flash. Furthermore, she even did a Memory Change on the right-side, shifting from Cyclone Joker to Luna Joker. With Luna's phantasmagorical ability, the yellow-black Kamen Rider uses her right arm and leg to stretch out to the Dopants and smacked them. The robbers were unable to avoid the attacked and got paralysed from the rapid spanking and kicking. This opening allowed Luna Joker to use a finisher for Memory Break. "Now!" cried Asuna as she took out the Joker Memory and inserts it into the Maximum Slot before pressing the activation button. **"Joker. Maximum Drive"**

Luna Joker's body splits up, with the right side multiplied into five and the produced offshoots started stretching their arms and spanked the Cockroaches repeatedly from various angles. Afterwards, the Luna side stopped attacking and merged back with the Joker side. Then, the left-side splits and rushed towards the Dopants while charging up the hand. "Joker Strange!" yelled Hiro and Asuna as the Joker side chopped every of the Dopants with the charged hand, triggering explosions on them before merging back with Luna side.

When the explosions subsided, the robbers felt to the floor and became unconscious. In addition, their Gaia Memories were ejected from their bodies and shattered into pieces from the Memory Break finisher. "Never underestimate your opponent even if it is a girl" Asuna declared. "Wow…" Kirito muttered in awe, could not believe that his girlfriend just did all that.

* * *

Later, at the Asaka Detective Agency…

Kirito, Hiro, Suguha and Asuna are having a discussion regarding what happened today at the corner where they usually deal with their clients. The bluenette's little sister, Ayumu was absent because she was preparing for her exam that will take place in the upcoming fortnight, from 18th to 27th of August. Hence, she appointed Suguha and Asuna as the _sub-chiefs_ of the agency for times like this.

The induction aside, the black swordsman seemed frowned while staring at his girlfriend. "Hey, Asuna. What are you trying to pull off here, taking the Driver from me? Plus, you even transformed" interrogated Kirito. Hearing that makes his little sister became surprised. "Eh?! Asuna-san transformed into W, with Hiro-san?!" gasped Suguha before she glanced at the Asuna and then the bluenette, who nodded in confirmation. "No way…" she muttered in disbelief.

"There's something more enthralling to me than this. That's your first time fighting as W but how did you pull off such dexterity? As far as I am concerned, your style is using rapier and fencing is what you did as sports" Hiro asked curiously. "Training! I've been taking karate classes since last month" Asuna answered. "Karate? I see. So that explains why you can fight like that even though that's your first time transforming" Hiro replied understandably.

 **(Author's Note: The fencing part was something I made up. There is nothing mentioned about Asuna do fencing as a sport before she plays SAO. It could be implied but just kept hidden. However, since she comes from a wealthy family and her style to use rapier in the game and anime, fencing is the first thing that comes to mind)**

"With that being said, from now on, I'll be the Kamen Rider" Asuna declared, which got a surprising reaction from her boyfriend and his little sister. "What?!" gasped Kirito and Suguha. "Oh-la-la…" Hiro muttered a flat tone.

"Hey, Asuna. What's gotten into you? You're not acting like yourself" asked Kirito worriedly and stated. "Kirito-kun, you shut up!" Asuna shouted angrily, which made the black swordsman surprised even more and he keep quiet as per told. "Is that fine with you, Hiro-kun?" she asked.

"Oh, sure. If that's what you want" Hiro answered, who does not seem to mind about this. "Then it's decided" Asuna concluded, which made Kirito became dumbstruck on how the bluenette easily approved this. Then, the black swordsman gets up and pulled Hiro's shirt, grabbing him to where the work table was. "Hey, partner! You… are you trying to pull off something weird from going into a woman's body!? Stop it!" whispered Kirito angrily, which made the bluenette gets the former's hands off him.

"Hell no, blithering idiot!" groaned Hiro. "I had rather avoid this because girls would think weird things from fusing with a guy and on top of that, she's your girlfriend. That's why I ask you to be the W's body in the first place. Trust me, I'm not going to do anything stupid like you think. For the time being, I'll just let her handle the moving and fighting. If things go exigent, I'll take over" he explained. The black swordsman sighed before he glanced to where his girlfriend was. _"Asuna…"_ Kirito muttered in his mind worriedly.

As for the bluenette, he was looking at the window and then his expression changed a bit. There was a small silhouette outside and its shape looks like a dinosaur. To be specific, a Dromaeosaurid. The said silhouette then vanished a moment afterwards. _"It can't be… Fang?"_ thought Hiro.

* * *

 **13th August 2060, Friday**

At the Elisabeth Mansion…

Hermione had called her father to inform him about something at the gathering room. Those two are sitting at the table to discuss about it. "What? You found out where Carlos was? Carlos Frank Elisabeth?" Shane replied, somehow looking surprised to hear this. "Yes. At the very least I think it is someone who had gained his abilities. I'm going to confirm it soon" Hermione explained. "What do you mean, Hermione?" asked Shane.

"Kamen Rider W appeared within our territory during last incident. I happened to see the identity of the user who become the body of W transformation system. I did some further investigation and here is the result" Hermione started before she brings out some documents on clipped to a paper holder pad and puts it on the table. On the front page had the title, 'Asaka Detective Agency' and below them are a list of pictures of its members, from Hiro and Ayumu, and then Kirito and his friends (minus Yui and Strea). The total of the members shown was nine starting from Hiro, Ayumu, Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, Lisbeth, Sinon, Silica and Recon.

"What's this?" asked Shane. "This is the list of members that worked with the Asaka Detective Agency" answered Hermione. "That's quite a lot of them. I thought a detective agency are smaller in general. It might make sense if the members three to five at most, but nine members are definitely too much" Shane commented.

"Indeed. That would be too much" Hermione agreed. "In any case, the person who becomes the body was this young man called Kirito. If my hunch is right, the right half of W was this man" she explained further, pointing her hands to Kirito's picture before Hiro's picture. Her father glanced at the black swordsman before looking at the bluenette.

"Oozora Hiro… that rings a bell but where did I hear that from?" muttered Shane before he asked himself curiously. "A former terrorist member from World Reformer. Two years ago, he was put under probation and now works as the successor of that agency with his adopted sister, Ayumu. Perhaps for Otou-sama, Asaka Ayumu is more familiar because that is her previous family name and she was the noisy new maid from that incident" explained Hermione.

"Oh, that infamous war maniac. How ironic. For a terrorist member to be working as a detective now. Plus, the new maid from that time was his little sister. This must have been fate for me to meet these two" Shane said amusingly as he walks away from the table, which made his eldest daughter surprised. "Eh? Otou-sama already met this man?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah. I saw him at Amanohara Museum the other day" Shane confirmed. "Still, to think he got access to the Planetary Bookshelves… I don't know how he obtain it when my son, Carlos Frank Elisabeth was the true Child of Fate. But, I got a hunch of that he had this familiarity that only Carlos had when I met him" he explained. "Then, it is possible that Carlos takes over that detective's body?" deduced Hermione. "Hermione. Bring him in. Regardless of what the truth of that, he is needed to execute our important mission" ordered Shane. "As you command" Hermione stood and replied together with a bow.

* * *

 **17th August 2060, Tuesday**

It was another normal day at Asaka Detective Agency. However, for some reason, when Kirito and Asuna arrived, they found steams coming out from the garage. The duo rushed worriedly there and then saw Hiro collapsed inside RevolGarry.

When they went to check on him and asked what he did, the bluenette said he ended in Complete Obsession Mode by accident again. This time, he did a research about boxing because he heard how much Sara really admired such people that managed to lose weight on the radio. Hence, that is the reason why there are punching bags along with other things used to train boxing. That also includes a heater to make himself sweat. However, since the bluenette did all of them so intensively without holding back, his body could not bear with the strains and he ended up collapsing from exhaustion.

Asuna and Kirito sighed worriedly from hearing this. After all, whenever Hiro get excited onto something, he never stops. That makes him no different than a runaway train, specifically on knowledge. The couple even warned the bluenette to be more careful because he could lose his own life from doing this excessively and wrongly. Kirito then asked Asuna to get water for Hiro to drink while he carried the bluenette to rest on the bed at the office.

After the two managed to get him to rest while putting a wet cloth on his forehead, a guest came, and they decide to do their job of greeting. Now, they are currently seated on the chairs at the corner nearby the entrance.

The client was a lady in her 30s. She had long brown hair and hazel eyes. The client wore grey long-sleeved shirt inside a brown vest, grey skirt and black, closed toe shoes with conservative heels. Her name was Kudo Tokoha and she told Kirito and Asuna that she works as a bank teller at Amanohara Town Bank.

While Asuna is jotting down the details, Tokoha noticed the bedridden bluenette and was curious of concern. "Is that person okay?" asked the brunette. "Oh, don't worry about it. He was playing around too much" answered Kirito, which the client responded with an understandable nod. "Kudo Tokoha-san. A bank teller at Amanohara Town Bank" Asuna reads up the detail, which Tokoha replied with a nod of confirmation. "So, how can we help you?" asked Kirito and there was a short silence from the client. Afterwards, Tokoha answered, "I want you to find Kamen Rider"

Upon hearing that, the couple became speechless. "Eh? Kamen Rider?" Kirito and Asuna echoed in unison. Of course, even the bluenette could not help but overheard this as well, causing him to look at where Kirito and the others were. The black swordsman and the Flash glanced to each other and then backs off a bit, trying to whisper privately. "Hey, hey. What kind of request is this? It's unexpectedly easy" asked Kirito sceptically. "I guess that's how much Kamen Rider becomes well known in this city" Asuna deduced. Of course, the client did hear that but not on the same page as them.

"Kamen Rider is this city's enemy! A wanted criminal!" exclaimed Tokoha, which made the others surprised. "Eh?!" cried Asuna and Kirito. Even the bluenette could not rest upon hearing that and gets up to sit on the bed. "What do you mean?" asked Kirito.

"Yesterday, I saw a masked kaijin riding a bike. He attacked our bank and robbed the money" explained Tokoha. Of course, Kirito, Asuna and Hiro were speechless upon hearing that. Kamen Rider robbed a bank. That is impossible because obviously they do no such thing. The only plausible explanation for this was that the robber was using the name as his/her own identity. From the client's story, the culprit was probably male. While they were distracted from the story, the client turned away and grumble, "That scum…"

Coincidentally, Asuna heard that and glanced to the client before the latter looked back to where the couple was. "Please find him! I want him prosecuted. The source of evil, Kamen Rider!" Tokoha requested. _"An impostor of us?"_ thought Kirito. _"Why would someone do that?"_ pondered Hiro. Regardless, they cannot turn a blind eye on this matter.

* * *

Later…

Asuna heard that there is another bank robbery caused by the fake Kamen Rider and she rushed to the scene. When she arrived, they saw a lot of patrol cars around and the forensics are analysing the scene, where the said area was restricted under yellow tape for other people.

Even if Asuna cannot enter the area, she can see how horrible the mess was because the armoured car carrying the money was smashed terribly and it got turned over. She was speechless from seeing this. Officer Kagami was there as well and explained to her the mess was caused by Kamen Rider.

"You say the Kamen Rider did this? No way… It can't be!" muttered Asuna before she denied the statement told by the officer. "But it is a fact. According to the witness, he had a habit of cracking his neck and asked randomly to guess who he was. When the witnesses answered Kamen Rider, he said it was correct and attack them" "No way…" murmured Asuna in disbelief. "He pretended to be an ally of justice, but he finally shown his true colours. I've always thought he smelled fishy" Kagami pointed out, which irritates the Flash and she intervene. "Kagami-san! The culprit isn't Kamen Rider!" Asuna argued.

"Listen, Asuna. Don't hide him just because you know him. The next time we meet, he's not getting away! I'll tear him apart and arrest him!" Kagami declared, resolute to arrest Kamen Rider no matter what. "No. I'll prove that Kamen Rider is innocent, and the bank robber is an imposter" proclaimed Asuna.

* * *

Afterwards…

Asuna is seen riding on Hard-Boilder, with a helmet on of course, across the city. At first, Kirito was against her going out for investigation because he was worried that she did not have any license. However, the Flash had already taken her license to ride the bike legally and she even showed to her boyfriend the said card as proof. For the black swordsman, he could not believe that Asuna go as far as getting one to ride Hard-Boilder.

 _"My heart is boiling with fury. Whoever this culprit was, I can't forgive him. I'll definitely find that fake Kamen Rider and tear off his disguise!"_ Asuna thought in her mind as she drives. Later, she went to the pier and then had launched Bat Shot to search for suspicious figures in the city.

After half an hour of waiting while monitoring Bat Shot's recording through Stag Phone that she had, technically exchanged with Kirito, something appeared on the footage. She saw what it may seemed to be a Dopant riding on a cruiser superbike. The monster had red body, wearing armoured boots, bullet-resistant vest that has fearsome design with spikes and dragon-faced shoulder pads while armed with various guns on the waist along with its ammos. That Dopant also had a translucent mask shaped like a skull and had a big irregular looking sword with a skull as its pommel. The said monster was Arms Dopant.

the Flash herself was surprised when she sees this figure. It is obviously a Dopant and had a mask on, so it is not surprising that people would call this criminal Kamen Rider by accident. In any case, she cannot let this weapon Dopant gets away do as he please. At that time, the Flash had the Double Driver equipped on her waist while she was on standby, riding the Hard-Boilder.

"We're up, Hiro-kun. Is your body okay?" Asuna said and asked the bluenette. Hiro, on the other hand, was lying on the sofa inside the garage. It looks like he is still in bad condition to move around. "I'm still not okay but no worries. It's not liked my body is the one doing the fighting anyway so let's just get this over with quick" Hiro explained. "Oh, I totally forgot about that. Okay" Asuna replied. The bluenette then took out the Cyclone Memory and activated it. Likewise, even Asuna does the same. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" Hiro and Asuna yelled. **"Cyclone Joker"** Those two initiated the transformation mechanism as they changed, with Asuna's body becoming W while she started driving Hard-Boilder at full throttle to pursue the fake Kamen Rider.

* * *

Then…

Arms, riding on his motorbike went to attack a bank's armoured van before he was pursued by the real Kamen Rider. Apparently, only a male driver was there because he was driving the van alone. He immediately backs off and gets close to the vehicle, mainly because he was afraid. That weapon Dopant changed his left arm into a machine gun as he approached the driver. "So… guess my name!" Arms ordered before pointing the gun at the man, who shook his head panicky in fear. "I don't know!" the driver cried. "Boo Boo! The correct answer was Kamen Rider. Remember that" Arms proclaimed in disappointment before he pointed out the gun again at that man, readying to open fire.

Luckily, Cyclone Joker managed to arrive just in time before the weapon Dopant can attack. "Hey! Enough with the nonsense, you impostor! What did you think you're doing?!" barked Asuna.

"Oh, the real one. You're much faster than I anticipated" Arms commented. As he spoke, the driver uses the chance to evacuate. "What?!" growled Asuna. "Later!" proclaimed Arms as he pointed at Cyclone Joker and shoots at her. The green-black Kamen Rider was unprepared and got hit by the attack. During this opening, the weapon Dopant rushed to his bike and started revving it before leaving at full throttle.

"You're not getting away!" declared Asuna as she realised what happens and gave chase. While pursuing and managed to catch up with Arms, the criminal turn and shoots at W, forcing her to avoid the shots while still going forward. The weapon Dopant laughed wickedly, confident that he was able to shake off the green-black Kamen Rider as she slowed down.

Then, RevolGarry arrived from behind W and opened the hatch, which Arms noticed. Cyclone Joker had Hard-Boilder leaped onto the giant vehicle and added the booster parts to the bike. Upon realising that W is going to speed up, the weapon Dopant revved his bike at full throttle, getting away from the Kamen Rider as far as possible.

Cyclone Joker then had Hard-Boilder launched like a cannon from activating the boosters. **"Trigger"** While speeding up, Asuna took the chance to take out the Trigger Memory to change the left side of W. **"Cyclone Trigger"**

After a minute, Arms make a turn at the corner and it gave Cyclone Trigger a chance to catch up. However, instead of speeding up on the riding, Asuna slowed down even after she makes a turn on at the corner, which her buddy noticed. On top of that, she even had the bike on autopilot mode. "Hey, what's wrong, Asuna-san?" asked Hiro.

Instead of answering, Asuna takes the Trigger Magnum on the left chest and Trigger Memory out from the left slot. She then inserts the memory into the gun. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"** Cyclone Trigger then shift the magnum into Maximum Mode.

The bluenette then realised that his buddy is trying to unleash a Memory Break. "Wait! Don't be hasty, Asuna-san! We need to catch up with the criminal first. More importantly, unleashing Memory Break like this is a bad idea" Hiro warned her. "Just do it! We'll finish this guy right here!" Asuna argued.

"Okay…" Hiro replied reluctantly and decides to let his buddy do as she please. Cyclone Trigger then made the Hard-Boilder accelerate suddenly to catch up with the fleeing weapon Dopant while the rider herself is aiming at the chased target with the charged magnum. Arms then noticed the green-blue Kamen Rider catching up and was aiming to shoot him. "Trigger Aero Buster!" yelled Hiro and Asuna as Cyclone Trigger launched multiple shots of pressurized air from Trigger Magnum.

"Oh! This is bad!" cried Arms before he shoots out bullets, where the shots are larger in size towards the Maximum Shots and the ground. Most of the shots neutralised each other while the shots hitting the ground created smokes that temporarily disables the vision from Kamen Rider's point of view.

Cyclone Trigger halted the bike's movement immediately when this happens and waited for the smokes to subside. A few seconds later, the said smog vanished but to their surprise, neither the Gaia Memory nor the user himself was spotted. The same could be said about the motorcycle used by the Dopant.

"Eh?! There's no Memory!" gasped Asuna. "Looks like he's escape" deduced Hiro. The bluenette himself had already predicted this or at least can tell this will happen. Asuna was a bit rushing in doing things just now, dealing a finishing blow when they have not saw the full potential of their enemies beforehand.

Then, Cyclone Trigger looks around and soon noticed something odd on the road. She gets up from the bike and approached to where the thing was on before picking it up. The item that was on the floor was a broken metal piece with an irregular looking shape. "This is… He dropped this?" muttered Hiro, wondering if the left piece of metal was an evidence related to the culprit. "Looks like it can be a clue. Please analysis it" Asuna requested. "All right" Hiro agreed.

* * *

Later, inside a Climbing Gym in Amanohara City…

Tokoha is seen in a proper gym wear, climbing on the walls while tied on a rope with anchor on her waist as a safety measure. Then, Asuna came and climb up to where her client was as fast as she could. Tokoha noticed the presence of the woman she requested help from and stopped climbing. "Hello" Asuna greeted with a smile. "We found the culprit, but he got away" she reported. "You came all this way to report that? You can just call me you know by phone" Tokoha replied.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that" Asuna told her. "Why?" asked Tokoha. "I'll be blunt. You're not a bank teller, right?" said Asuna and the client was silent from this for a while. "Why are you doubting me for?" asked Tokoha. "Your phrasing sounds suspicious, so I asked my friends to investigate your background. There's no worker at a bank that goes by your name. In other words, you were lying" explained Asuna.

Tokoha was silent again for a few seconds before she breaks it by laughing a bit. The way she laughed sounds wicked and then muttered, "It cannot be helped now. It's all out in the open, huh?"

"You suddenly seem very villainous! So, you've shown your true colours?!" Asuna snarled as she attempts to grab onto Tokoha, but the latter quickly climbed down without any trouble and reached the ground and unequipped the safety gears. "What?!" she gasped upon realising how fast the brunette was in climbing down.

Tokoha was about to leave but halted when she saw Kirito had intercepted her. "Tokoha-san. I know you have a reason for wanting us to catch the fake Kamen Rider. Stop working in secret and cooperate with us" he suggested before approaching the brunette.

There was a short silence for a moment before the said client decided to admit the truth. "You… Have you ever heard about Two Musk?" asked Tokoha, breaking the quietness. "I think that was…" trailed Kirito, before MHCP01 hologram appeared on his left-side shoulder. "It is the name of a Phantom Thief group, Papa. They'd rob convenience stores and disappear into thin air. That group even become famous in a Wide Show (Talk and Variety Show) before" explained Yui. "One of its members was me" Tokoha confessed, declaring that she was a member of that Phantom Thief group.

Upon hearing this, everyone else was surprised from the revelation. "What?!" gasped Kirito. "Eh?! Then… You're a wanted criminal!" Asuna claimed before she decides to climb down.

"My partner's name is Kusaka Kenta. We deliver a calling card, then get what we want without spilling a drop of blood. That was our style. But, yesterday I accidentally saw it while we're robbing from our targeted bank. That was Kenta! It's not like him to do such cruel things!" explained Tokoha as she reminisced her past in committing the crimes as Phantom Thieves.

At that time, Asuna had finished climb down the wall and takes off the safety gear from her waist. "That's why you lied to us when you made your request?" deduced Kirito. "I want to find and stop Kenta more than anything!" said Tokoha worriedly. "That was your true request?" guessed Asuna based on what she heard from the client herself.

There was a short silent and then the black swordsman sighed in disappointment. "Looks like our job ends here I guess. We can't accept requests from wanted criminals" said Kirito.

"No. We're taking this request" declared Asuna. "Asuna?!" "Mama?!" Kirito and Yui gasped in unison upon hearing this. Even Tokoha herself was surprised. She deceived them, yet the Flash still decides to continue with the request.

"But I only want one thing for payment. When we catch him, you two will turn yourselves in" Asuna told the brunette the condition for them to accept her request. "You…" muttered Tokoha. "Clients… No… everyone in this world had their own circumstances and reasons in doing things. It's not just Tokoha-san. If I came from a poverty-stricken family and my mother's sick for example, I might just resort to do something like her as long as I can help my mother" explained Asuna. "If we never try to figure out the truth and consider that aspect from their side, forget about being detectives, I am ashamed to call myself a human being who cared for each other"

There was a short silence on the atmosphere before the black swordsman decides to shatter that quietness by sighing. "It cannot be helped. I guess I'm on board as well. I would regret more doubting my client than trusting them" concurred Kirito. Upon realising how thoughtful these detectives are, Tokoha replied with a bow while saying, "Thank you…"

* * *

Soon, in the garage at the agency…

Asuna and Kirito returned to ask the bluenette to enter the Planetary Bookshelves. The title of the lookup was 'The location of their enemy'. Currently, Hiro was about to input the keywords he heard from the Flash and Black Swordsman. "Keyword: Kusaka Kenta, Two Musk" the bluenette insert those two keywords and the shelves started to reduce. "Please hurry up, Hiro-kun!" Asuna urged him to find the solution quick. However, despite using such unique terms like name of person and group, there are still hundreds of shelves. "I wasn't able to reduce it very much" muttered Hiro.

Upon hearing that, Asuna becomes frustrated and started wondering around aimlessly. "Calm down, Asuna. You're too acting way too stressed" Kirito pointed out, trying to prevent his girlfriend from being too anxious. "I am stressed!" Asuna snapped before she heads to the large wheel on RevolGarry left side. "We got to find and stop him quick. I can't stand it if he started rampaging with the name 'Kamen Rider' again!" she barked before hammering the wheel out of anger.

The bluenette was dumbstruck from hearing the nagging. Even Kirito himself was surprised as well. It was not like Asuna to lose her cool so easily. Usually, she is more collected and directly strict on her actions. That is the reason she was appointed as the Vice-Commander for her guild, The Knights of the Blood. For someone as great and honourable as Asuna to be hot-blooded for no reason, it is only natural for Kirito himself to be worried about his girlfriend. After all, as far as he knows, while his girlfriend acts strong from outside, she is a maiden with a fragile heart. He can still remember those moments when Asuna acted like that. One of them was when she hesitated to kill Kuradeel because he pleaded that he did not want to die. The feeling of pity swayed her action to finish him off and the maniac homicide used that chance to strike back. Luckily, Kirito saved her and when Asuna realised her naivete causes trouble to him, she started crying. On other occasions, she acted like everything is fine when the truth was otherwise opposite, and he can tell right now, the Flash is facing that situation again.

"Listen Kirito-kun, the name Kamen Rider is a name that this city's people gave us. No… it was perhaps for Hiro-kun initially" Asuna explained before she realised that her terms were misplaced and corrected them. "Regardless, I am pretty attached to it by now. It doesn't matter if we're not involved as much as him, I can't stand anyone who tried to sully the name of this city's hope! I never will!" she said determinedly.

"Just one more… a decisive keyword…" Hiro told them. Then, Strea's hologram suddenly appeared on Kirito's shoulder. "What about that piece of evidence?" she suggested as the black swordsman showed the piece of metal that was obtained from the scene. "We still don't know what that piece was all about" Hiro answered, unsure about what the evidence referring to. Then, Strea started observing the metal piece before Kirito turned the evidence in different position. Then, the beauty AI had her brows raise and she realised something. "Ah! It's an apple!" Strea exclaimed, noticing that while the metal was only a small piece, she can see that it has the shape like an apple. "Hey, Strea. That thing is obviously a metal. Not an apple" Asuna corrected annoyingly. "Are you sick?" asked Kirito.

"Keyword: Apple" Hiro inputted the random keyword that Strea said, trying to see if it works. Then, to his surprise, that nonsensical sound 'keyword' eliminates most of the book, leaving only one left. "Bingo…" he muttered in disbelief. The bluenette soon went to pick up the resulted book for PLACE as the title and read it. "That piece of metal is part of a locker key plate. Considering Kusaka's area of activity, there is only one place with an apple symbol mark" explained Hiro before he left the Planetary Bookshelves. "East Suzugamori District, Southwest, Sheppard Building" the bluenette informed his friends.

For once, Kirito and Asuna were speechless. The happy-go-lucky Strea with monstrous strength was being helpful even though she spouted nonsense. At the very least, they could never laugh her for it because Hiro was telling the truth that Earth witnessed. "No way… For real?" Asuna and Kirito muttered in unison and disbelief. "Aha! See? See? See? Be impressed! I was quite helpful! After all, I'm the Queen of Inspirations!" Strea started bragging about herself before laughing out loud. "I should had been Kirito's wife instead of Asuna, but I think I like being their daughter! Oh well! Papa!" she squealed.

Kirito, annoyed with the beauty AI's antics, decides to slam Strea's hologram using his right hand, forcing her to return to the Linkage Terminal while Hiro went to the whiteboard and started to ponder. As for Asuna, she usually calls out the girls when they tried to romantically and intimately involved with Kirito. However, since Strea was being helpful, she decides to overlook her behaviour this time and act like it never happened. Hence, she went to take the Stag Phone and decides to contact her client. "Oh, Tokoha-san. We know his location. Yes. Then, see you later" Asuna told Tokoha while fetching the map of the city to find the location mentioned by Hiro before ending the call. "Wait, where are you going?" asked Kirito when he realised his girlfriend was leaving.

"I called her. We're going to settle things" Asuna answered before she leaves. However, the black swordsman rushed to where his girlfriend was and grabbed her hand, stopping her from leaving. "Asuna. You're acting weird. What's going on?" asked Kirito worriedly, which made the Flash frowned. "What are you talking about, Kirito-kun?! Are you saying that we should just do nothing about this matter?!" Asuna reprimanded. "No. I didn't mean that" Kirito replied. "It's just you're not acting like yourself. Yesterday was the same. Just what got into you?" he asked. Asuna remained silent when asked about this. She was about to say something but the bluenette intervene when he decides to speak.

"Um… I'm sorry to interrupt in your private conversion but there's one thing bugging me for a while" Hiro told them. "What? Get straight to the point" Asuna said, urging the bluenette to be blunt as she was rushing. "Why Kusaka rampages using the name Kamen Rider? We should investigate a bit more and form a plan" Hiro suggested. The Flash then gets away from her boyfriend and approached the bluenette.

"We got no time to waste! The two in one Kamen Rider's pride is on the line!" Asuna exclaimed. "What'll we do if we don't restore our reputation?" she questioned and the bluenette was silent for a while. "But, Asuna. This is different from when we're inside SAO" Kirito pointed out.

"It's no different!" cried Asuna. "If a member of the Clearing Group, especially the Knights of The Blood was known to the other players for Player Killings or committed crimes, the other guilds and those who can't fight will lose trust in us. This city believed that their hero is Kamen Rider. Then, we should make sure that honour is preserved" explained Asuna. "Asuna-san…" muttered Hiro, which made the Flash glanced at him. "We can just form a plan as we go!" Asuna proclaimed before she decides to leave the garage. "Wait! I'm coming too!" Kirito said, following her.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Elisabeth Mansion…

Hermione is on her way out and simultaneously, she encountered her husband coming from the opposite direction. Though she hardly makes any eye contact nor smile when she sees him. "Yesterday, I saw a slovenly man seeking a meeting with you. Is that true?" asked Junnosuke.

"Yes" said Hermione confirmedly before the two stopped when approaching each other. "Who was that? For the last few days, you've been acting strange" asked Junnosuke worriedly.

"That's my line. What were you doing for the last two weeks? You're nowhere to be found when I noticed" Hermione retorted. "Are you slacking off or trying to betray us?" she questioned.

Upon hearing that, the husband was silence in speechlessness from what his wife accused her. Regardless, Hermione decides to leave the topic there and excuse herself. "It's about to start, the showtime" she muttered and leave the house.

 **(A/N: Japanese terms sometimes uses 'Sabotage' when referring to someone who was lazy in doing work. While in English, Sabotage refers to people trying to disrupt other's action or anything)**

* * *

Soon, within the city…

Arms is seen riding his bike and heading towards the basement of Sheppard Building through the tunnel. When he arrived at the bottom, he was intercepted by a trio, which consisted of Asuna, Kirito and Tokoha. The female member of Two Musk now let her long hair loose, touching her shoulder and wore a black jacket and shorts, with black hosiery and black sneakers. Arms halted his bike upon realising them and gets off. "Tokoha?" muttered the weapon Dopant before he puts his hands on his face, where the memory comes out. Arms reverted to his human form.

It was a muscular man with long black hair and violet eyes. He wore green sweater inside swamp-green jacket, grey pants and black shoes. This person is the other member of Two Musk, Kusaka Kenta. On his right temple, he had the Living Connector Port, which some of it even enters his right eye's sclera. "Kenta…" muttered Tokoha as her partner cracked his neck out of stiffness.

"As we thought, he really was the culprit" deduced Kirito. Tokoha then worriedly approached her partner and worriedly pulled him back and forth but he does not seem perturbed from this. "Please, Kenta! Stop it! Return to your old self!" she pleaded. "The old me, huh?" muttered Kenta before he started laughing wickedly for a while. "I can't!" he barked while pushing the brunette away from him and she fell to the floor. Kirito and Asuna was surprised from this and the former approached the brunette to check on her well-being.

"I… can't no longer stop myself! Because I have eaten… the forbidden fruit called Gaia Memory!" claimed Kenta before he laughed wickedly again, and this made Tokoha shed tears upon realising that her partner had gone insane. "Those are not Kenta's eyes…" she whimpered. "Kusaka! Give up the Memory!" Asuna ordered, demanding the male Phantom Thief to surrender. However, the criminal laughed wickedly and amusingly from hearing that before glancing to the Flash. "If I gave up my Memory, I'd be giving up my humanity!" Kenta scowled before activating his memory. **"Arms"** he inserts the Memory on the right temple and transformed again into that weapon Dopant.

"Hiro-kun!" cried Asuna as she takes the Double Driver and equipped it to her waist, which becomes a belt. At the garage, to be specific, on the platform where Hard-Boilder was currently parked inside RevolGarry, Hiro was there and on standby. The belt also appears on his waist as well. Instead of the usual Cyclone Joker formation, Asuna informed through telepathy that they are going Luna Trigger from the beginning. Hence, the bluenette took out the yellow Gaia Memory while the Flash takes out the blue Gaia Memory. **"Luna" "Trigger"** "Henshin!" Asuna and Hiro yelled before they initiate the transformation procedure. **"Luna Trigger"** the Flash's body becomes Kamen Rider while the bluenette collapses as his mind transferred to the former. When they transformed, Kirito took Tokoha into hiding.

"Oh, you're the Kamen Rider. I wasn't expecting a lady to be one" commented Kenta with sarcasm. "Don't underestimate me just because I'm a lady!" barked Asuna before she takes out the Trigger Magnum and aimed at Arms. However, before the yellow-blue Kamen Rider could fire, something came and strike her hard from behind. Luna Trigger fall and roll over the floor. Asuna quickly rebounded and try to look what is going on. She saw a silhouette rushing like lightning around the area.

"What was that? An ambush?" Hiro muttered, wondering what is the thing that attacked them. Asuna then proceeds to shoot out a few homing shots, which the bullets started moving around trying to hit the target. However, regardless of how many bullets she shot, all the bullets did not hit the target. To make things worse, the target passed by her and before she even noticed, the homing shots hit her instead, knocking her to the floor again. "No way! It's too fast!" gasped Asuna.

"Leave it to me" Hiro said as Luna Trigger stood. Then yellow-blue Kamen Rider takes out the Heat and Metal Memories before swapping Luna and Trigger Memories respectively. However, instead of initiating the Memory Change, Luna Trigger remained stationary for a while, waiting for a chance as she was bashed by the unseen opponent and fell again.

With Hiro taking control, he was aiming for the moment when the swift enemy passed in front of him while observing the target carefully. Then, he had the yellow-blue Kamen Rider gets up and predicted the enemy approaching from the front.

"Now!" the bluenette cried before he had the Luna Trigger bends her back and initiated the Memory Change. **"Heat Metal"** the yellow-blue Kamen Rider now changes to red-grey formation and the Metal Shaft appears on the back, hitting the approaching enemy, stopping its track. Then Heat Metal gets up and spanked the said enemy pushing it away before looking at what their opponent was properly.

They saw that it was another Dopant that looks like a furry sabre-tooth tiger with bloody fangs and grey body. In addition, the opponent also had a silver buckle with golden sphere on its waist. This enemy is Smilodon Dopant.

Upon seeing this, Heat Metal was surprised. The bluenette particularly becomes quite anxious when he saw this scene from Asuna's point of view. On top of that, the enemy gives out a blood thirst aura. _"C-Commander?!"_ gasped Hiro nervously in telepathy, which made Asuna curious as to why he felt like that. _"What's wrong?"_ asked Asuna through the same method. _"Asuna-san, this enemy is dangerous. We should retreat"_ Hiro explained. _"Running away? Aren't you being a coward here?"_ Asuna questioned sceptically about his panicky behaviour. _"I'm serious! This guy is much more dangerous than you think!"_ warned Hiro. "Whatever! I'm taking this tiger down!" declared Asuna as she started charging towards the sabre-tooth tiger Dopant while taking out the Metal Shaft. "Stop! Asuna-san!" cried Hiro as he tried to prevent his buddy from fighting the enemy's Commander. However, Asuna was forceful with the control that the bluenette was unable to stop her.

Heat Metal approached and started battering Smilodon with the fiery staff repeatedly, making it yelped in pain. Then, she jabbed the sabre-tooth tiger Dopant on the stomach before lifting and threw it to the other side. Afterwards, she swapped Heat Memory with Luna and initiated Memory Change again. **"Luna Metal"**

Upon changing form, the yellow-grey Kamen Rider uses Luna's power to extend the staff's length and whacked the Smilodon repeatedly like a whip. She continued doing that for a while until the sabre-tooth tiger Dopant was paralysed. "Now!" exclaimed Asuna as she takes out the Metal Memory and insert it into the Metal Shaft. **"Metal. Maximum Drive"**

Luna Metal started swinging the whip-mode staff around continuously and each swing makes a golden ring that floats. It was done until six rings were produced. "Metal Illusion!" cried Asuna and Hiro before unleashing those rings towards the enemy, which started heading towards Smilodon. Each hoop hit the Dopant one at a time before all of them the opponent simultaneously, triggering an explosion. "Did we do it?" muttered Asuna as she waited for the smog to subside. When it does, there is nothing remain, neither the Memory nor its user. "No. It fled. As expected, Commanders aren't that easy to let themselves defeated" Hiro explained. "Oh well. The next time it happens, we'll defeat them for sure" Asuna said carefreely and the bluenette sighed over this.

While the two in one Kamen Rider were preoccupied with their conversion, Arms took this chance and blasted at full strength towards Luna Metal using his left machine gun. The yellow-grey Kamen Rider realised this quite late, got hit and blown away from the attack. Furthermore, the transformation was forcibly undone and Asuna suffer some injuries before falling onto the floor. The Double Driver was still equipped on her waist as this happens.

Of course, Kirito and Tokoha noticed this and immediately rushed to her aid. "Asuna!" the black swordsman yelled as he sprinted towards his girlfriend and lifts her. "Are you okay?!" he asked worriedly but apparently Asuna tried to bear with the pain instead of yelping.

Of course, the brunette could not except this cowardly action and glanced at Arms with disheartened eyes. "Kenta! Why did you do that?!" cried Tokoha. "Why? I rather not fight ladies head on. It's not in my taste. Plus, she let her guard down so I used the chance to strike." answered Kenta before he cackled in a wicked way. "No…" muttered Tokoha sadly and she was about to shed tears.

As for Kirito, hearing this sneer makes his heart boiled in anger. How dare he did this to my girlfriend, is what anyone can think he would respond. Indeed, that was it. Hence, he takes off the Double Driver and the W's left-side Gaia Memories from Asuna before leaving her in Tokoha's care. Then, the black swordsman gets up and glared at Arms while the female member of Two Musk took the Flash into hiding. "Kusaka! I can't forgive you!" barked Kirito as he equipped the Double Driver onto his waist and becomes a belt. "Let's go, Hiro!"

"Wait! We need to fall back! Asuna-san's wellbeing takes priority!" Hiro argued. "Just do it!" Kirito ordered angrily. "I can't let this guy get away for doing that to Asuna!" he declared. There was a short hush and the bluenette thought about it for a while. Indeed, if the people important to him got hurt, he would do anything to avenge them. In this case, Kirito's important person was registered as Asuna in his mind. "Okay…" Hiro reluctantly agreed and takes out the Cyclone Memory while Kirito takes out Joker. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" the two boys yelled and initiated the transformation, with Kirito's body becoming Double and Hiro collapses again. **"Cyclone Joker"**

"I take it you're the real one. Let's play as much as we can!" declared Kenta as he rubs his palms for a bit before charging after Cyclone Joker. The green-black Kamen Rider prepared himself as Arms approaches. The weapon Dopant comes with smacks from his hands, which Cyclone Joker blocked from using his hands as well. Arms then gave a left kick, but the green-black Kamen Rider pushed it down with his right hand before countering with a wheel kick. The weapon Dopant avoided that before delivering a few punches that forces Cyclone Joker to back off. The green-black Kamen Rider block and avoid some of them before delivering a right-hand punch on Arms' chest. Afterwards, the weapon Dopant countered using the same method, forcing Cyclone Joker to back off. Arms, while laughing insanely, then continued attacking with a left kick, double and upper kick before using a left kick again on the green-black Kamen Rider. Cyclone Joker then counters with a left kick on the weapon Dopant. "Not bad" Kenta complimented before delivering a few more punches that hit and forces Cyclone Joker to back off.

When one of the punches, especially from the left hand missed, Arms transformed his arm into a giant blade and then strikes the green-black Kamen Rider with five consecutive slashes, in which the fifth one sends Cyclone Joker flying and rolling on the floor. Double quickly gets up and prepared for the incoming attacks. "Punk!" growled Kirito because Kenta used a cowardly way of fighting, that is from hand-to-hand combat to weapon combat without warning. Arms then takes out the big sword on his back using his right hand and now he had a mix of dual wielding of an arm sword and a hand sword. "How about this?" he questioned with sarcasm before charging towards the green-black Kamen Rider. The weapon Dopant strikes Cyclone Joker with the big hand sword before slashing with both the weapons at once, sending him to the floor again.

Kirito, realising that he cannot fight unarmed quickly gets up and decide to do Memory Change. As this happen, Arms charged towards Cyclone Joker. **"Heat Metal"** the green-black Kamen Rider changes to red-grey form.

Arms strike with his hand sword, which Heat Metal blocks it with his left arm. Then, the red-grey Kamen Rider takes out the Metal Shaft and pushed the hand sword away before jabbing Arms on the stomach. Afterwards, Heat Metal started counterattack with a few strokes, which the weapon Dopant interchangeably blocked them with his swords. The red-grey Kamen Rider then delivers a strong blow, which forces Arms to crouch when blocking with the hand sword and locked him into place.

The weapon Dopant soon uses his free left arm and transforms it into a machine gun before shooting at Heat Metal, forcing him to back off. Afterwards, Arms stood and fired again at the red-grey Kamen Rider, which sends him flying.

Heat Metal managed to regain balance as the weapon Dopant, who already store his hand sword at his back, approaches the Kamen Rider and before he crouches. "I can't follow him at all" Kirito commented as Arms taunted him with his machine gun. "He can accoutre both his arms. This guy's powerful" Hiro stated. Then, Arms decide to deal the finishing blow by firing a strong shot at W. However, RevolGarry suddenly appeared in front of Heat Metal and block the attack, to Arms surprise and he was forced to turn away his face because the big vehicle intruding sent some debris at him.

 **"Heat Trigger"** The weapon Dopant then noticed Kamen Rider W changes form as he leaped from behind the big vehicle and shoots a few fiery bullets that send the former flying. "Kusaka!" growled Kirito after landing and rushed towards his opponent who was recovering, while bringing out the Joker Memory. **"Joker"** **"Heat Joker"** While rushing, Kamen Rider W initiated another Memory Change before leaping and delivered a flying right punch on the now stood Arms. "How dare you sully the name of Kamen Rider and did that to Asuna!" Kirito barked in rage while punching the weapon Dopant a few more times before delivering a strong fiery thump that send the latter flying. It seems the black swordsman is avenging his injured girlfriend and try to deliver her anger of befouling the title of Kamen Rider.

Then Arms, while laughing out of amusement gets up again. "I can't get enough of this! The real thing truly is strong!" Kenta complimented. Suddenly, he got an incoming transmission, which apparently came out from his communication device. "Oh, excuse me" the weapon Dopant said before taking out his walkie talkie and listen to it. Apparently, the person who contacted him was Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth and her using this method of communication indicates that she was somewhere in a 10 km radius from where Arms vicinity. "Kusaka, stop playing around and get serious" she ordered, which Kenta responded with an amusing chuckle. "Roger" he agreed before putting away his walkie talkie and glanced to where Heat Joker was. "My client's driven in the final nail. Now is the real show" Kenta declared before doing a finger snap.

Afterwards, a bunch of Masquerade Dopants suddenly came out of nowhere and surrounded Heat Joker, to his surprise. Then, the red-black Kamen Rider heard Asuna's scream and glanced to its origin. Apparently, she and Tokoha were grabbed by a few of the Masquerades who restrained the Flash when she tries to struggle. "Who are you guys?!" Asuna cried.

"Asuna!" Kirito gasped in worry as he tries to rush at his girlfriend's aid but one of the black suit Dopants intercepted his path, preventing him from doing helping. "It can't be… a trap set by the organisation?!" gulped Hiro. "That's right, you two" Kenta said confirmedly. "You followed my hint just as I expected. It looks like you're as good as sniffing things out as they say"

"You dropped that plate on purpose?!" Hiro questioned as Arms laughed amusingly and approached the captured Asuna, who was struggling to free herself before aiming his machine gun at her and glanced at Heat Joker. "You piece of trash!" scowled Kirito.

Of course, even Kenta's partner could not accept this way of doing this. "Stop it…" Tokoha muttered. "Kenta! I beg you! Please stop it!" she pleaded but Arms had no intention of stopping.

"I bet you can guess what this trash wants next?" Kenta questioned. "Undo your transformation" he ordered. There was a short silence and afterwards, Heat Joker raised his left hand towards the driver and pushed it slowly, attempting to release the transformation. Though, while all this happens, the black swordsman communicates with the bluenette through telepathy. _"Hiro. We'll pretend to undo the transformation but put in Luna. We'll turn the tide as Luna Joker"_ explained Kirito. _"Got it"_ Hiro agreed.

Afterwards, Heat Joker takes out the Heat Memory and was about to initiate the Memory Change. However, it seems that Arms predicted this would happen. "That won't work!" Kenta barked and quickly fired a solder shot while the red-black Kamen Rider was about to put in Luna Memory. The shot was faster than Kirito's response as it hits and sealed the right slot of Double Driver. When Heat Joker tries to insert it, he realised that he was unable to do so because of what Arms did. "What?!" gasped Kirito. Then, Arms started shooting rapidly at Heat Joker, sends him flying and forcibly undone the transformation. Kirito fell to the floor, with his Double Driver still equipped and the right slot still sealed by the solder. He did not come unscathed either as the black swordsman had an injury yet not life-threatening on his left arm. "Kirito-kun!" cried Asuna worriedly. Simultaneously, Hiro, inside the RevolGarry woke up from unconsciousness of transforming and was worried about his partner so he gets out to check. As this happens, Arms laughed wickedly and amusingly from how pointless the black swordsman tried to struggle in this situation.

"I can't let my guard down for a second!" Arms claimed as he approaches Kirito from the crowd of Masquerades before glancing to where RevolGarry was. "So… Our target is in the vehicle, I suppose?" he deduced.

Upon hearing that, Kirito and Asuna had an idea who Kenta was referring to. It was Oozora Hiro and they realised the whole ruckus of Kamen Rider being a wanted criminal was to camouflage the enemy's objective of seizing the bluenette. "Don't tell me… from the very beginning, you guys are after Hiro-kun?!" gasped Asuna in horror, which Arms turned to the Flash with a chortle.

"Exactly! Correct!" Kenta proclaimed in confirmation before glancing back to where the giant vehicle was. Kirito was still struggling with his pain and turned his face on the floor before looking to where RevolGarry was and became dumbstruck. To his dismay, Hiro came out from the vehicle and doing that just makes the enemy's work easier.

At that time, the bluenette saw the situation that happened on his partner's side and was horrified. "Hiro! Run!" yelled Kirito and the enemies realised that the person the black swordsman called out was their target. "There he is! Catch him!" Kenta ordered. Upon hearing that, the Masquerades take out their guns and charged towards the bluenette. Hiro was in a trance of what happened and cannot move immediately to the situation. "Hurry up and run!" Kirito yelled again. At that time, the black suit Dopants started firing their guns at Hiro and it was then he realised that he must flee. The bluenette avoided the gunshots and immediately ran away from the scene, as far as he can.

* * *

Hiro does not know where to go but he knows one thing, if those Masquerades captured him, it would not be good. After 10 minutes of running, the bluenette arrived at a park and approaches a fountain while panting. Luckily, he was able to shake off his pursuers but that does not mean he is safe. "What to do?! What should I do?!" Hiro yelled worriedly.

Then, the bluenette noticed a presence approaching from his right. He glanced to that direction and saw a woman wearing black suit, skirt and fuzzy coat was coming towards him. That woman was none other than Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth but unfortunately the bluenette had no idea who she was. "You should come with me" she suggested.

"Who are you?" asked Hiro, which the woman responded with a smirk. The bluenette then realised the meaning of that. "It can't be… all of this was your doings?" he guessed in horror. "That's right. I set this all up so that you would be in my hands once more" explained Hermione as she confirmed the bluenette's suspicions. Then, she lifts her hands and try to welcome him with open arms. "Now… come… Carlos"

The bluenette was surprised upon hearing that name and apparently, she was referring to him. "Carlos?!" Hiro gulped, still could not understand the situation. "That's your name" said Hermione as she started approaching the bluenette slowly in the same stance. "Let's come home together"

"Wait! Carlos is my name?! What are you trying to pull off here?" Hiro questioned suspiciously, which made the maroon hair woman retract her welcoming arms. "I'll be frank. Your name is Carlos Frank. You are a human who has obtained a transcript of the Earth. In other words, you are the Child of Fate" explained Hermione before she gave a welcoming hand towards the bluenette, who slowly backs off from doubt against her. "I'm… not an object!" Hiro barked, which made the maroon hair woman irritated that she withdraws her welcoming hand again. "Who do you think I am? I am…" Hermione tries to explain but the bluenette cut in line.

"I don't know who you are, but I think you got the wrong person. Carlos Frank isn't my name!" Hiro barked as he denied the name addressed to him. "I don't know what matters you are trying to involve me with, but I had no intention of going with you! Definitely!"

"Looks like you've grown into a cheeky child or are you forgotten who I am?" Hermione commented with a cold look on her eyes. "No matter. I'll just erase your unnecessary memories and brainwashed you again" she declared while taking out the Taboo Memory and equipped the Memory Driver on her waist. **"Taboo"** Hermione equipped the Memory into the Driver and becomes the rag doll Dopant that floats into the air.

The bluenette was stunned upon seeing what that woman did. She just transformed into a Dopant. Furthermore, it is Taboo, the Commander that he had encountered way before Kirito and his friends. "The Commander from Begins Night! It was you?!" gasped Hiro. Upon realising who he was dealing with, the bluenette immediately makes a run for it, knowing that she is dangerous. "I'll take you back by force!" Hermione declared and flew towards the fleeing bluenette.

Hiro tries to escape into the forest where most of the leaves fallen and turned brownish but unfortunately for him, he tripped onto the ground because it was slippery and muddy. The bluenette was stained with dirt. However, that does not matter to the enemy as she unleashes a few energy bombs towards him. Though Taboo purposely missed her aim and those attack hits his surrounding instead because she cannot kill him and the only she could do is scaring her target.

Hiro crawled on the ground, trying to avoid the other attacks and escaping. However, Taboo unleashes another energy blast to frighten the bluenette and he was forced to cower. Then, Hiro gets up, trying to run but when the rag doll Dopant uses that attack again, he falls onto the ground again. Then, the bluenette crawled as much as he can, trying to flee from his enemy. Suddenly, Hiro stopped when he saw something odd standing out that is not too far from him.

It was some sort of gadget with light blue tinted body and had grey arms along with black-silver legs. It also has a head of dinosaur with a black windscreen and little silver tail. Based on its body shape, it looks like a Dromaeosaurid species. However, this gadget was not a normal gadget. It is a Gaia Memory that can move on its own will. The name of this Memory was Fang.

 _"Fang!"_ Hiro exclaimed in his mind when he saw this dinosaur moving Memory. Fang howled and try to approach the bluenette. However, the bluenette then was in a trance and remembered something unpleasant. From what Hiro saw, it was a sea of flames and amidst of that fire was a Kamen Rider with Lost Driver as the transformation belt. That Kamen Rider looks identical like Cyclone, Luna and Heat from its body shape, except that it is white in colour and the body was more animal-like trait. It was Kamen Rider Fang and the said warrior had gone berserk, attacking anyone around itself, be it friend or foe.

Upon recalling that terrifying recollection, the bluenette immediately grabbed a stick that he happened to find nearby and threw it at Fang, forcing the dinosaur moving Memory to back off and leave. "Go away! Don't come near me!" barked Hiro. "I don't need your power!" he proclaimed before crawling to another direction.

Taboo was still on pursuit at the bluenette and continue to frighten him by lobbing energy bombs near the target. "Come with me, Carlos!" ordered Hermione as she floats towards the slowpoke Hiro. The bluenette took out his Stag Phone and inputted some codes.

* * *

Meanwhile at the basement of Sheppard Building…

Kirito, Asuna and Tokoha are held hostages, with Masquerades hanging onto them. When Hiro inputted the code, the parked RevolGarry had its windscreen glow before the giant vehicle started moving suddenly and forcibly left the premise, to everyone's surprise. RevolGarry even send a few of the Masquerades on its path flying when they were unable to avoid the vehicle rushing at them. the Flash could not accept what is going on and she realised that the bluenette was abandoning them. "Hold it! You're leaving?! You're cruel, Hiro-kun!" cried Asuna. "Fool!" shouted Kirito. "What he did was fine. That's right. Run, Hiro" he muttered. However, the black swordsman did not realise that Arms was approaching with a sneer before the latter gave a pat on his shoulder. When Kirito look at who did that, the weapon Dopant punched his stomach, forcing the former to fall into unconsciousness. "Not yet! The fun is just starting!" Kenta announced.

His partner, on the other hand could not bear with the sight of him being out of character and already beyond control. "Kenta, please open your eyes! We're thieves but we don't do horrible things like this!" Tokoha cried pleadingly. Arms just kept quiet and then approached his partner while untransformed to human form. Kenta just laughed insanely for a while when he looks at Tokoha. "You should try rampaging too. You'll learn that you cannot stop" he explained before chucking insanely again.

"Kenta!" Tokoha cried pleadingly as she struggles to break free, but the Masquerades restrained her. However, it looks like her persistent begging had caused Kenta to be fed up and lose interest in taking her as a hostage. The said man approaches and grabbed Tokoha's chin. "Go disappear somewhere" he glowered before pushing her to fall onto the floor. Then, Kenta along with the other Masquerades take their leave with the abducted Kirito and Asuna. Tokoha dejectedly watch her partner left.

* * *

Back to where Hiro was…

The bluenette was still running away from Taboo. When the rag doll Dopant unleashed a few energy bombs towards Hiro, RevolGarry arrived and blocked the attack, to her surprise. During that chance, the bluenette quickly entered the giant vehicle. Taboo continue unleashing more energy bombs at RevolGarry, but the vehicle did not flinch and remain intact before it forces it way at her.

The rag doll Dopant quickly flew to the side and managed to avoid getting crashed. However, this means that her target had escaped when she saw the vehicle was already far away from her reach. Taboo just frowned in frustration that she failed to capture the bluenette and the rag doll Dopant descends to the ground before undoing her transformation.

Though, Hermione realised that she has not fail yet because they got hostages. "Whatever, we got hostages" she muttered before looking at hands and clothing. It seems she had sweat a lot from all trying to get the bluenette into her possession. "Guess I'll shower and wait" Hermione said before leaving the vicinity.

As for the bluenette, he was inside RevolGarry as the giant vehicle is on its way returning to the garage. Hiro was trembling in fear because of the incident that just happened and Fang's appearance. "I can't afford to be caught. But… I'm completely against… using that" he muttered before collapsing due to exhaustion.

* * *

An hour later, at Asaka Detective Agency…

RevolGarry had already arrived at the garage, all parked with the hatch opened, and Hiro was still unconscious at the same place. A minute afterward, the bluenette regain his consciousness and glanced around him. Hiro saw that he was back at the Agency but sadly, he was the only person there since Asuna and Kirito was captured.

Then, his Stag Phone rang, and he quickly picked it up to see who was calling. The display showed that it was from Asuna's number (from her normal phone, not the Stag Phone she borrowed from Kirito), so he quickly answered it. "Hiro-kun?!" Asuna started when the bluenette puts the phone on his ear. "Asuna-san! Are you okay?!" Hiro asked worriedly but then he heard some whimpering. "We're not okay at all!" Asuna cried.

On the other side, where Kirito and Asuna were, each was tied up thoroughly on a barrel. When the call takes place, it was Kenta who hold Asuna's phone and he placed it near her ear. Currently, the male member of Two Musk had brought them to an abandoned factory.

After Asuna cried they are not all right, Kenta immediately pull the phone away from her and takes the call. "Come back, boy" he ordered. The bluenette, upon recognising that voice realises it was Kusaka Kenta. "Kusaka Kenta!" muttered Hiro. "The place is Tsubame-Cho abandoned factory" said Kenta as he gets away from Asuna. "You better hurry. Very soon your friends will participate in a very cruel game" he warned the bluenette. "Don't come! You better not come, Hiro!" Kirito yelled suddenly, which made the bluenette was surprise as well. "Kirito!" cried Hiro worriedly. "Forget about me!" Kirito ordered. "This is my punishment for ignoring my partner's opinion. If you come… then that's the end of our relationship!" he warned. Then, Kenta approached the black swordsman and kicked on his left arm's injury before pressing it as hard as possible, making him screamed. "Kirito!" Hiro called out worriedly. "You won't be able to break off your relationship if you're dead" Kenta pointed out with sarcasm. "So-see-you-later" he said before pressing the injury on Kirito further, making him screamed louder. "Kirito! Kirito!" Hiro called out in concern. When the bluenette does this, Kenta purposely pointed the phone towards the yelping Kirito to make sure the recipient can hear his scream before ending the call.

Hiro, on the other side was completely devastated. Things had become quite complicated for him to handle. What should he do? Abandon them or save them? If he abandons them, they will be killed. If he saves them, they will break his relationship. For the second option, it might had been a desperate solution that Kirito had thought of last minute, but he was serious about it. Either way, it is not easy.

* * *

Elsewhere, inside Elisabeth Mansion…

Sara is sitting at the table within the gathering room, playing with a toy. That toy is a fire engine and she was rolling it around on the table, but it has an unusual design. It has a red body with black on the bottom part, some silver on the front, cyan windscreen and grey ladder where its end seems like a hose head. Its' four wheels each had red rim with hexagonal hole. Apart from that, in the middle of its body, there is a fire extinguisher attached to the ladder because there is a small gap between the ladder and its body. It also has orange line across its black body for each side with the number 06 and a siren on its back. The unusual part of this toy design was that behind the red alarm had a gun trigger, which is already obvious on its own or if the vehicle was turned upside down. The name of this fire engine was Trigger Machine Splash and it is a part of Lupin Collection.

While she was playing around with that toy, her sister Hermione passed by, wearing a red bathrobe. It looks like she had just finished taking her bath and noticed Sara rolling Splash on the table.

"As usual, playing around with that fire engine toy" Hermione commented with a cheerful expression. "Splash is my good luck charm after all. It's my precious treasure" Sara replied and then realised there is something off about her sister's remark. Usually, Hermione was very sarcastic towards her own little sister and sometimes got mad to the point of physical violence.

"Oh, you're unusually in a good mood, Onee-sama. Did something happen?" asked Sara. "Yes. I feel like the treasure I lost will be mine again" Hermione answered, which made her little sister raise a brow of curiosity. "Oh, what that might be?" asked Sara. "It is a secret. After all, treasures are secrets to every individual" Hermione explained before she left. Junnosuke, who was coincidentally there passed by his wife, but they did not exchange glance at all. Instead, after Hermione left, he just stared at her silently with curious and worried eyes.

* * *

That evening, at Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro was inside the office all alone, but he had already taken a shower and changed his clothing. The bluenette make himself some hot chocolate from the pantry and takes a seat at the small, tall round table. He seems to be gloomy and confused about what he should do. "I can't abandon them… but…" Hiro muttered.

Then, he heard a familiar howling came from inside the office and glanced towards the table where they hear inquiries from their clients. There, Fang Memory was on it, staring at the bluenette. Upon seeing this, the bluenette, out of impulse grabbed the cloth that happens to be on the table and lobbed it towards the dinosaur moving Memory, all the while yelling, "Stay away!"

Fang avoided that by leaping as high as it can. Though, the bluenette out of anger takes the pillow at the bed and lobbed at where he thought the Memory was again. Though, something unexpected happened because at the time when he was lobbing the pillow, Lisbeth and the other girls came in from the door. Lisbeth was unfortunate that being the first person that appear, got hit by the pillow that Hiro had aimed for Fang and she ended up falling to the floor. "Ow!" she yelped, and the others went to check on her if she is okay.

The bluenette then realised the girls had come to visit, which is something he did not expect to happen. "What? It was Lis-san and the others" Hiro said with disappointment. At that time, Lisbeth who just gets up, grabbed that same pillow and lobbed it back at the bluenette, hitting him. "Ow!" Hiro yelped but his body did not flinch from it. "Not 'What?'! What did you do that for?!" barked Lisbeth, which the bluenette realised he did hit her with the pillow after all. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to throw that at you" Hiro apologised as the girls come in.

"Then, to whom?" asked Suguha. "Oh, some bees, I guess?" Hiro answered nervously. He cannot say it was Fang Memory anyway because of the awkwardness the situation turns out. "They don't appear often but if one gets in. It's really annoying" he explained. "Is that so?" asked Sinon with a sceptical look. The bluenette then realised that the beauty Sniper seems to notice he was hiding something but decides to change the topic by fake coughing a little. "More importantly, why is it that you guys are here?" asked Hiro.

"Asuna-san and Kirito-san. They haven't return to the dorm, so we were worried" Silica explained. "Hiro-san, do you have any idea where they were?" asked Suguha. "Oh, that… I don't know. Maybe somewhere they can be alone, I think" Hiro lied. The bluenette knew that they were kidnapped but was too depressed to tell them. At least, he was not lying that they were somewhere, alone. "Somewhere alone?" Sinon echoed, which somehow raise angry brows on Silica and Lisbeth.

"Those two! It can't be they're having a date in the middle of the work?" Lisbeth guessed with accusation. "It's unacceptable!" proclaimed Silica. "Well, we're taking about Onii-chan and Asuna-san after all" said Suguha with an awkward smile. To the girls, whenever and wherever Kirito and Asuna were, the couple will always flirt around.

Then, everyone heard someone knocking the door, which was left opened and turned towards it. They saw that it was Officer Nobu Kouji. "Officer Nobu. What are you doing here?" asked Silica. "I came to ask some questions" Nobu answered. "About what?" asked Sinon. "I received info that one of the wanted phantom thieves from Two Musk was seen around this area from the last few hours" explained Nobu. "P-Phantom Thieves?!" exclaimed Suguha. The bluenette upon realising that thought to himself. _"Kudo Tokoha? She was released?"_

* * *

That night, at the abandoned factory…

Kirito and Asuna are still there, tied thoroughly at the barrel. Since Hiro did not come right away, Kenta decides to postpone the game for tomorrow morning. Of course, part of it was also an order from Hermione. Though, instead of leaving the hostages in the cold, the criminal left a fire lit up in a can to keep them warm. After all, Kirito and Asuna needs to be alive or otherwise they cannot participate in the game that Kenta had thought of.

There was no one watching them, so Kirito decide to try and free himself However, he had trouble doing so because they got tied them thoroughly. After a while, Kirito stopped due to exhaustion. "They were pretty thorough with wrapping us up" he commented.

"Sorry… Kirito-kun" Asuna suddenly muttered an apology, which got her boyfriend's attention. Her tone sounds quite sobbing. "What are you apologising for? It's not your fault" Kirito pointed out. "It is!" cried Asuna. "I ignored Hiro-kun's warning and let it go to my head! That person knew something was off yet…" she continued further while shedding tears of regret. The black swordsman was speechless for a while and keep quiet for a bit. "Hey, Asuna. Can you tell me, why did you go so far as training and trying to take over as Kamen Rider?" asked Kirito a moment afterwards. His girlfriend looks at him for a while before looking towards the floor again.

"For you, Kirito-kun" Asuna answered, which made her boyfriend raise his brows. "For me?" echoed Kirito. "I know. Lately, Kirito-kun didn't get enough rest. Every day, when you come back from work, you look terrible. Training aside, you never get yourself a day off. I was wondering if it was Hiro-kun's fault?" explained Asuna. "Asuna…" muttered Kirito.

"I… can't accept it myself. Why am I being side-lined in this matter? Up until now, we've been handling this together… No. It was even before that things had been distancing between us" Asuna continued before she turned to her boyfriend with a worried expression. "Kirito-kun, why didn't you keep quiet about what you did during Death Gun's incident?! Why?!" she cried, which made him jumped from this.

"T-That…" Kirito muttered stutteringly but was not able to bring out the words he wanted to say. "Because you didn't want me to get involved?! To protect me?! Didn't we promise back in SAO?! To face whatever obstacle in the future together? Yet, why did you keep quiet and bear it all by yourself?!" Asuna chided at him before tears started flowing from her eyes again. "If anything happens to Kirito-kun, I…" she trailed. The black swordsman was at a loss of words but now realised how worried his girlfriend was whenever he tried to bear all the dangerous issues alone. Of course, he always had a noble reason to do so but never thought that the pain of worrying could be up to this extent when he kept quiet about the truth.

"Sorry… I was scared" Kirito apologised. "Just back in SAO, I've committed some unforgivable sins that I could never forget. I already told you about this back when I joined your guild. It is the sin for lying about yourself to others and the consequences. One more is the sin for taking the lives of people with my own hands" he explained further, where the last line makes his girlfriend surprise. "Taking the lives of people?" echoed Asuna.

"You know what happened when we're trying to capture Laughing Coffin? Our plans got leaked and we were ambushed. Of course, we've gained victory, but we couldn't avoid bloodshed at all. I ended up killing two people in that fight even though I have the option to stop them without doing so. It was the same for Kuradeel. For a long time, I regretted it and thought, they deserved and wanted to live more" Kirito explained his opinion. "But, didn't you tried to protect me, at the situation with Kuradeel?" asked Asuna in confusion. Somehow, she could not understand why her boyfriend would questions the rights of his past actions when there are extenuating circumstances and the cause was justified.

"Indeed. But, when I think about it again, I really wonder if that was the right action for me to do? When I told Hiro about this, he replied, 'If killing someone to protect the people you care is a sin, is killing someone to free them from their suffering and to prevent them from committing more evils would be counted as a sin?', is what he said" explained Kirito with a quote from the bluenette. Asuna was surprised from hearing this. "I don't understand…" she said.

"Hypothetically speaking, if someone had gone mad from sadness and pain, started slaughtering people randomly, will taking away his/her lives would save him from that state and free his soul? Do you think you can do that?" asked Kirito. His girlfriend was silenced from hearing this question. She turns to where her feet were and said, "I… don't know"

"Me too. Even if that was the case, I don't know if I can do it. But, 'No matter how corrupted people are, we humans have a duty to protect their lives and save them from their sufferings. There's no right or wrong answer to our actions. We only do what we believed is the true path than regretting for not doing it. If you truly regret what you did in the past, do your best to take the right action in the future. However, do not let the traumatic past overwhelms your decision and life'" explained Kirito. "Kirito-kun…" muttered Asuna.

"Well, in any case, it's not wholly your fault. I was responsible too that this happened. Back then, Hiro said that treating your injury takes priority, but I decided to avenge you and the pride of Kamen Rider. I'm so lame…" Kirito admitted with a disappointed look, which his girlfriend responded by shaking her head before looking at him. "No… I was happy, Kirito-kun. Thank you" thanked Asuna with a cheerful smile. Kirito was surprised and then smile back.

"That aside. What will happen to us?" asked Asuna. "I don't know. But what was clear is that the organisation is after Hiro. That guy said this bound to happen sooner or later, even if we did not get involved to begin with" Kirito explained. "Hiro isn't going to save us?" asked Asuna. "That might be the case but knowing him, I don't think leaving us dying is an option" Kirito explained. "But, what I'm worried was that if he comes, how is he going to save us?"

"You're right. The right slot was sealed by that solder. There's a bunch of those black cloth Dopants guarding around. Not to mention, Kusaka was quite strong" Asuna suggested. "The only thing I thought of he would use Lost Driver and transform by himself. But, if he used Fang, I guess it's all over" Kirito said before trailing. His girlfriend was surprised from hearing the last sentence.

"Fang? What's that?" asked Asuna curiously. "Oh. Hiro told me about the Memory of tusks, Fang. That Gaia Memory gives the advantage for the user to fight fiercely like an animal. Furthermore, even if it's used with W and paired with Joker, there's no need to worry about changing memories. Just this form can adapt to all kinds of situation" explained Kirito. "For real? Then, why haven't you use that formation before?" said Asuna. "It's impossible" Kirito stated, which made his girlfriend confused even more. "Why?" asked Asuna.

"Fang is different from any usual Gaia Memories. It has its own will and likes to move around" explained Kirito, which made his girlfriend's mind blown. "No way… A Memory that can move around?" repeated Asuna before she imagines a lame image of a USB memory, with a face and legs, moving around in her thought. Somehow, she could not grab the proper image of it and chuckled awkwardly.

"Even if we have it, we can't use it because of the right slot was sealed. Provided that this slot wasn't shut off, Hiro refused to use that. After all, he did use that once but since that Memory got a will of its own, Hiro can't control himself and will attack anyone whether they are enemies or allies" described Kirito. "He'll go berserk…" guessed Asuna. "Just lookup made him crazily addicted enough already. Fang makes Hiro loses a part of himself. If that's the case, it's no longer W. Just a killer machine" Kirito continued and Asuna remained silent about this.

* * *

Elsewhere, in Amanohara City…

There are police everywhere and they are looking for one of the wanted members of Two Musk. A few of the policemen spotted Kudo Tokoha and chased her in the park. When the brunette turned at a corner, she stopped at a tree due to exhaustion. Then, a hand grabbed Tokoha's hand from behind the tree and forcibly pulled her to hide. She was surprised and about to yell but the owner of the hand hushed her to be quiet. The brunette saw who pulled her and it was Oozora Hiro, one of the people from Asaka Detective Agency. Then, she heard police officers approaching and the bluenette pulled her to lean against the tree for hiding. They waited for a while quietly for those policemen to pass. Luckily, those officers did not notice anything odd and continue running as if their target was still fleeing.

Afterwards, stealthily and quietly, Hiro takes Tokoha to leave the park and went to somewhere more secluded, which is Amanohara Pier. The brunette was surprised about what happened. Why did the bluenette saved her from the police pursuers?

"Why did you save me?" asked Tokoha before the bluenette turned to her. "If you get caught now, it would be inconvenient. More importantly, I need information about Kusaka Kenta. Anything would do. I need to find his weak spot" explained Hiro as the brunette walked while facing to the sea. "That… is no longer the Kenta I knew" said Tokoha. _"So, there's nothing, huh?"_ Hiro thought in disappointment. "But… I got to see him again" Tokoha declared. "And then…"

"Please stop with the recklessness. He's already been swallowed by the Gaia Memory's power" Hiro advised. "I know that! But, I can't just do nothing!" cried Tokoha exasperatedly. "Why put yourself through meaningless danger?" asked Hiro. "I don't have a reason. It's just that he is my partner. We are two in one" explained Tokoha. Upon hearing that, Hiro remembers what he said to everyone when explaining about W. The bluenette did say that Kamen Rider are two in one, referring to himself and Kirito. On top of that, even Asuna said something like that as well and they need to restore the reputation of two in one Kamen Rider. Putting the piece of the puzzles into its places, the bluenette now realised what he must do. "Thank you" Hiro muttered for gratitude, which made the brunette turned to him. "Eh?" Tokoha said puzzlingly from what she heard. "Thanks to you, I know what my decision should be" Hiro said before leaving. After a minute he departed from the brunette, the bluenette saw a familiar small figure upon hearing a familiar howling, which made him halted his steps. It was none other than Fang Memory, which had come for Hiro. The bluenette just stared at the dinosaur moving Memory nervously.

* * *

 **18th August 2060, Wednesday**

Next morning, at Tsubame-Cho abandoned factory…

Kusaka Kenta, now transformed as Arms was sitting on a box, watching the hostages do an amusing performance for him. To be specific, the performance he wanted them to do was very unsettling because it involves the untied Asuna, holding the rope that tied Kirito, hanging him over the upper platform from falling onto his death. What can cause the black swordsman to die if he falls is that beneath him was a board of spikes using pipes and square metal poles. Arms had cut those pipe and poles diagonally to a certain angle which made them pointy as a spike and glued them with solders.

As stated to Hiro yesterday, Kenta did not lie that the hostages are participating in a very cruel game. If Asuna lets go of Kirito, accident or not, the latter will die. Arms was so amused that he cannot stopped laughing when watching the Flash struggle not to make the black swordsman fall.

Knowing how awful this game was, Kirito glared at the weapon Dopant with furious eyes. "Kusaka! You fiend!" he growled. As this happens, Arms was still laughing amusingly and at that time, the rope had red stains around the position Asuna's hands were holding. "He's pretty heavy, isn't it? But… I suppose you're at your limit?" guessed Kenta, knowing that he would not stopped the game even if they asked to.

Simultaneously, Hermione was watching this event from inside a red sport car that is not to far and not noticeable by them. "What a nice taste he has" she commented.

Back to where the hostages were, Asuna was crying as she struggled to keep Kirito from falling. Not to mention, the Flash was getting tired, but she cannot afford to let her boyfriend die because of it. If she lets go, the black swordsman will die for real.

As for Kirito, he realised how painful it was for his girlfriend to hold the rope and prevent him from falling. He can see well she was suffering yet she does not want to let go. If Asuna let go by accident, she might end up regretting it for the rest of her lives or even resort to commit suicide. Knowing that he cannot let the Flash suffering any longer, the black swordsman believed he must do something. A few seconds later, Kirito said, "That's enough, Asuna. Let go"

Upon hearing that, his girlfriend becomes terrified. "Eh?!" Asuna gasped. Even though, Kirito ordered her to release the rope, she can see he was suffering as well. It cannot be help. Not anyone can suddenly accept the fate that they must die there and now. Though, the black swordsman was resolved to do this regardless with his fear of death.

"Thanks… I… I'm glad that I met you" Kirito said with some pauses. Upon hearing that, the Flash knew he was trying to leave into the other world. "Don't say that!" Asuna cried with tears. "Didn't you promise that we would be together for the rest of our lives!?" she yelled agonisingly. Even though the Flash said that, she was not able to hold onto the rope any longer.

Suddenly, Asuna tripped onto the floor while inadvertently releasing the rope and Kirito falls with his eyes close, accepting his fate to die. Upon seeing this, Arms closed his eyes like he could not bear to look despite yelling wickedly.

Hence, Kirito fall onto the spikes and die instantly… except that never happened. A minute has passed, and nothing happened. Kirito slowly opened his eyes and looked at the ground. He was still floating onto the air as if someone pulled him. However, it cannot be Asuna since she lets go of the rope. Realising that no one was holding the rope from the other end, he then looked above him.

On the platform, there is a small dinosaur-like gadget holding the rope. Despite its small size, it was able to hold Kirito hanging with no effort. "This is…!" trailed Kirito gasped, which got Arms attention and saw that the supposedly fall hostage did not die. "What's this gadget?" the black swordsman asked himself. Even Asuna who fell onto the floor saw that her boyfriend was still alive and felt relief. However, she was also entranced by that dinosaur-looking gadget as well for saving Kirito.

Then, everyone's attention was diverted when they heard a motorcycle sound approaching from another direction. It was a male rider and he rode Hard-Boilder there. "He's here?" muttered Kenta while Hermione smirked in triumph that her target had arrived. The rider takes off his helmet and revealed himself as Oozora Hiro. The hostages were surprised to see him coming. "Hiro!" cried Kirito. "Hiro-kun…" muttered Asuna.

When the bluenette arrived, a group of Masquerades appeared out of nowhere to greet him. "Go ahead and break our relationship all you want. I won't allow it though as long as I'm alive" declared Hiro, replying to the warning that the black swordsman said yesterday. Then, the bluenette's eyes glared sharp towards Arms. "You're going to regret this. Kusaka Kenta" Hiro proclaimed.

"Huh?" Kenta responded before chuckling a bit. "Hey, hey. At times like this, you still can crack a joke? What do you think you can do?" he questioned sceptically. "I won't be responsible for what happen" Hiro said with determination. "Hiro! What are you planning to do?!" asked Kirito worriedly. However, the bluenette remained silent even though his partner asked a question.

"Hey! You have some plan, right?!" Kirito asked again. "I can just make a plan as we move" answered Hiro. Then, Asuna remembered that she said the same thing yesterday when Hiro suggest devising a plan. Even Kirito recalls that as well.

"I'm going to imitate what you, Asuna-san and Tokoha-san did. I'm going to act without logic" Hiro declared. "Hiro-kun…" Asuna muttered. "Please ride with me to Hell itself, Kirito!" Hiro announced, which made the black swordsman surprised. "Come…" The bluenette started as he reached his right hand forward with open palms. "Fang!" he yelled.

Upon hearing that order, the dinosaur-like gadget or else Fang use all its might to lob Kirito away from the spikes and crashed towards Asuna, who managed to catch him while falling together on the floor.

Then, Fang started running around the platform before leaping swiftly towards the bluenette, landing on his palm. Afterwards, Hiro pressed the dinosaur-like gadget with his left hand before proceeding to smack its butt, shifting the tail to have a Memory appear with his right hand. It becomes a Gaia Memory because there is a silver button and a label of 'F' in the form of claw strikes on it. **"Fang"** after pressing the silver button with his right hand, Hiro lobs the now transformed Fang so that he will hold it with the Memory pointing downwards with his left hand while pushing Fang's head inside. Then, he pointed the Memory to the right like he always does when transforming into W.

Meanwhile, from a far, Hermione was perplexed to see what just happened and the presence of a new Gaia Memory. "That gadget… It can't be…" she trailed. After Hermione said this, the Double Driver, which was not on Hiro's waist reappeared once more.

Then, the bluenette remained just like that and does nothing. He was panting out of anxiety. Arms noticed this and wondered what the bluenette was trying to pull off. Even Kirito and Asuna had no idea what is going to happen. "Hey, hey. Are you stupid? Even if you got a new Memory, this guy can't be the body to transform! Don't you realised your slot was sealed?!" Kenta pointed out.

"Don't underestimate me!" barked Hiro, which made everyone surprise by this. Afterwards, the Joker Memory that never left Kirito's Double Driver digitally transferred to Hiro's instead, on the left side, which he and Asuna realised. The bluenette then pressed the appeared Memory properly. Then, Kirito realised where the flow is going and had a bad feeling about this. Hence, he must prevent the bluenette from transforming. "Stop! Hiro!" shouted Kirito, which Asuna was confused what is going on. However, the bluenette had no intention of stopping.

"Henshin!" yelled Hiro as he puts the Fang Memory, use it as a handle to spread the Driver apart and then fold the head to the space between the buckle, which becomes the dinosaur head with red eyes and a horn. That horn itself is the tail when Fang Memory was in its Live Mode and a part of the leg move down to become the jaw to complete the dinosaur mouth. **"Fang Joker"** Afterwards, the living connectors appeared on Hiro's face as his body transformed into Kamen Rider W. When the transformation was completed, Kirito fell into unconsciousness because it was his mind that was transferred to Hiro instead.

"What?!" gasped Arms. It is not just him but everyone else at the scene was also surprised as well because Hiro's body became Kamen Rider W instead of Kirito. However, there was a slight difference on this W design compared to the usual ones. First, the right side of W was mostly white with some black pattern on the chest, shoulders, wrists and ankle to the opposite of Joker's minor purple. Second, the scales on the body seems spikier regardless on which side from top to bottom, except for the feet. Finally, the W antenna on the forehead seems like two pieces of lightning shape on the bottom part.

The design aside, after Hiro transformed, he howled for a while longer before charging towards his enemies. "Hiro-kun's body become W?!" gasped Asuna. As this happens, the black suits Dopant rushed towards the white-black Kamen Rider as well, engaging him in battle. "What's that W?!" gulped Kenta. He totally did not expect this to happen. Even, Hermione was speechless about this as well when the battle had commenced.

Like Hiro explained to Kirito, who passed it to Asuna, Fang Joker fought his enemies ferociously like a wild animal. Even though the Masquerades try to restrain the white-black Kamen Rider, he was too strong to retaliate them instantly, pushing the one holding him aside before punching the one in front of him, all while howling like a beast. During the battle, Asuna took this chance to take Kirito's body into hiding.

Fang Joker pushed one of the black suit Dopants to the pillar before elbowing it with his right, crushing it along with the pillar into half. Then, he grabbed another Masquerade and lobbed it near to where Arms was. Afterwards, he went to the thrown black suit Dopant and punched him before tapping the horn on Fang Memory once. **"Arm Fang"**

A scythe blade appears from Fang Joker's right wrist. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider turned around and slashed the incoming Masquerades with it, turning them into dust instantly. Afterwards, he started to do the same to the others before doing a spin strike, obliterating the ones close to him immediately.

Next, Fang Joker's attention was pointed towards Arms and charged towards the latter. "Get him!" ordered Kenta as he pointed his left machine gun and shoots at the incoming white-black Kamen Rider. However, his shots did not make Fang Joker flinch a bit. The white Kamen Rider then tried to cut Arms with the arm fang, making the latter backs off a bit. The weapon Dopant turned around, arming his left hand into an arm sabre to intercept the next attack from Fang Joker. However, instead of stopping there, the white-black Kamen Rider pulled back and relentlessly strikes Arms like a madman, forcing the latter to be at total disadvantage.

While watching the weapon Dopant getting beaten brutally and relentlessly, Hermione realised what is going on. "I see! That Fang Memory exist to protect Carlos. To protect Carlos, it will use any means. A warrior that eliminates both enemies or allies. A being that can change W" she deduced.

Back to the battlefield, Hiro, as Fang Joker was still beating Arms senselessly like a brutal berserk beast. By then, Kirito, whose mind was with Hiro now managed to realise what was going on. It took a while for the black swordsman to sync up because the role reversal was too sudden out of nowhere. "Hey! Calm down, Hiro! Hey!" yelled Kirito, with Fang Joker's left eye blinking instead of the right eye. However, his order was ignored, and the white-black Kamen Rider continues to beat Arms repeatedly. "It's excluding Hiro!" Kirito yelled, realising that Hiro's mind was not there. Since Fang Joker did not see where he was striking, he ended up sending the weapon Dopant flying to where Asuna was.

Arms, realising the hostage nearby quickly rushed and grabbed her. "Hey, stand up!" he ordered while his left arm becomes an arm sabre, attempting to threaten Fang Joker. "What do you think of this?!" barked Kenta as he pointed the blade to cut Asuna's neck.

However, this threat does not scare Fang Joker at all as he howled for a while again before charging towards where the weapon Dopant was. "Asuna!" Kirito cried as the white-black Kamen Rider attempted to slash not only Arms but also Asuna as well. "Stop! Stop at once!" Arms demanded. "Stop, Hiro!" shouted Kirito. "Hiro-kun, stop!" cried Asuna pleadingly.

However, Fang Joker did not stop at all and move forward, attempting to eliminate both Asuna and Arms with one strike from the arm fang. "Why you! Stop! Stop, I said, partner!" Kirito ordered as Fang Joker still rushed forward, attempting to attack. Things seems like it was about to end when the blade from arm fang was about to strike Asuna in just one second left. However, that one second was extremely slower in another dimension.

* * *

Simultaneously, something occurred in that dimension. It is the mind of someone, which to be specific, Hiro's mind. Kirito, using all the strength he had as a consciousness, reached out his hand to stop his partner from killing Asuna. In his attempt, he ended up into a dark subspace. That place seems vast and had no ends. However, there are shelves and books all around the black swordsman, in a sea of flames.

Kirito looks around him and was shocked to see what he saw himself. "This is… the Planetary Bookshelves?" he muttered to himself. Then, the black swordsman remembered that Hiro explained the said place was mostly white and the books are properly arranged at their respective shelves. He realised that it is not the Planetary Bookshelves but his partner's mind world.

"No, it isn't. This is inside Hiro's consciousness" Kirito stated. "Right now, he's frozen from the fears of all his intelligence and reason burning" he deduced. The black swordsman then realised he heard the endless screaming of a familiar voice echoing throughout the subspace when he was inside this. Worried, he started wondering around looking for Hiro. "Where are you?! Where are you, Hiro?! Hiro!" Kirito shouted as he started searching around.

Shelf by shelf, the black swordsman looked for the bluenette but to no luck. However, he did not stop and continue searching, all the while calling out to Hiro. After some time of wondering though the flames, Kirito stumbled upon something odd. He saw a body under a pile of books. The black swordsman then quickly went to check it and put away all the books to see what it was. Fortunately, that body under the books was Hiro and he was unconscious. "Hiro! Hiro!" Kirito called out as he pulled the bluenette out from the books and held him in his arms.

Then, the bluenette started to regain consciousness and he saw Kirito had finally arrived to rescue the former. Hiro smiled when he realised that Kirito was able to find him. "I believe in you, Kirito. That you'll be able to find me" he said. "Of course! What are we (Ore-tachi)?" Kirito said before asking back. "That's right… We (Boku-tachi) are…" Hiro trailed. "The two in one Kamen Rider!" the duo said in unison before grabbing each other's hand. Kirito then lift the bluenette up to stood. Suddenly, as if a miracle, sparks came out from their unison and the subspace suddenly turned back to what it formally seems to be, which is the true image of the Planetary Bookshelves. Hiro and Kirito smile to each other as this happen.

* * *

Back to the real time…

Asuna was about to be slashed by Fang Joker and she closes her eyes to accept her demise, except it did not happened. The blade stopped barely just before it could touch her. She nervously opens her eyes and saw that she was still alive before looking to where Fang Joker was.

"Asuna-san. It's all right now" said Hiro. "Hiro-kun!" cried Asuna delightedly and in relief. Then, Fang Joker quickly grabbed Asuna with the left hand, get her away from Arms before punching the weapon Dopant, causing him to fell onto the floor near the board of spikes. The white-black Kamen Rider had disengaged the arm fang as well. "Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito proclaimed simultaneously as Fang Joker pointed his right hand towards Arms.

The weapon Dopant realised that he would be defeated and chose to flee. Fang Joker turns to the direction Arms was leaving before tapping on Fang's horn twice. **"Shoulder Fang"** A blade appeared on W's right-side shoulder.

Fang Joker pulled out that blade and get himself ready to throw it. As this happens, Arms was trying to leave while the remaining Masquerades charged towards the white-black Kamen Rider. Fang Joker then lobbed the blade forward, which then moves like a boomerang, hitting all the black suit Dopants and instantly eliminate them before hitting Arms a few times. The weapon Dopant was fell onto the floor from the shock before the boomerang return to its owner and vanished.

Afterwards, on Fang Joker's right side, he saw Kudo Tokoha had just arrived at this factory. The white-black Kamen Rider glanced at her for a while when noticing her arrival. "Let's fulfil Kudo Tokoha's request now" Hiro proclaimed.

"For the Memory Break, we need the left and right sides be in sync. Um… It's Fang's finishing move so… How about Fang Strizer?" Kirito suggested. "Fine. Just choose whatever name you like" Hiro said before Arms get up. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider tapped on the horn three times. **"Fang. Maximum Drive"** the dinosaur mouth opens a bit before closing as the said Memory charged up. Fang Joker then put his right feet forward before a blade came out from the ankle.

The white-black Kamen Rider gets himself ready before leaping into the air. Arms noticed this and had armed his right hand into a machine gun before shooting at Fang Joker. "Fang Strizer!" Hiro and Kirito yelled as Fang Joker spun around while diving towards the weapon Dopant, whose shots was ineffective to stop him. While they were spinning, it forms a light blue silhouette of a dinosaur head that was about to gobble its target. Fang Joker lands a spinning blade kick on Arms, which made the dinosaur silhouette chomp and send the weapon Dopant flying before triggering an explosion. The white-black Kamen Rider lands safely on the floor before he stood.

Because the attack was a Maximum, Arms Memory was ejected, and the Dopant reverted to Kusaka Kenta as he fell onto the floor. The memory itself shattered into pieces, rendering him impossible to change back into a Dopant. Tokoha immediately rushed to her collapsed partner and put him into her arms. "Kenta!" she called out. "Tokoha…" Kenta muttered before he fell unconscious. "Kenta!" Tokoha cried worryingly before embracing him. Fang Joker just remained silent while watching this.

However, on the other hand, Hermione realised that her plan was completely foiled because her subordinates had failed. "This guy is dangerous!" she gasped before shifting her car into gear and left at full throttle. Fang Joker could hear the revving engine and saw the red car. Upon closer look from Fang Joker's sharp sight at long distances, he saw Hermione was panicky trying to escape from the scene. "Wait!" Hiro yelled as he tried to chase after the enemy but immediately fell to the floor. "What's wrong, Hiro?" asked Kirito. "Sorry, I suddenly don't have any energy" Hiro apologised. "It can't be helped. You were rampaging too much like that, so it used up most of your strength" Kirito deduced before Fang Joker turned to where Asuna was. "Asuna! My body! Bring it here!" he ordered.

"Okay!" Asuna said and dragged Kirito's body on the floor instead of lifting it. The way she did it looks like she was sweeping the floor with him since she was pulling his legs across the ground, which left the black swordsman irritated. "Hey! Treat it carefully! That's me!" Kirito scolded as Fang Joker approaches, which now makes Asuna annoyed as her brows raise inconsistently. "I'm totally beat after all that and here you're complaining at me?!" she berated before letting go of it with a pout. Then, Fang Joker gave a hand gesture to move aside, which Asuna sulk before she really does that. The white-black Kamen Rider crouches and instantly cut the ropes while removing the solders on Kirito's body. Afterwards, Fang Joker takes out both Memories out from the driver and reverted to Hiro. The bluenette was breathing heavily due to exhaustion while Kirito regained his consciousness.

As for Asuna, she was still sulking from how her boyfriend scolded her for the petty stuff. "Asuna" Kirito called out. "What?" Asuna said without looking at her boyfriend. "Here" Kirito said as he hands over something to the Flash.

Then, Asuna turned to look what her boyfriend was trying to give her. To her surprise, Kirito is handing her the Double Driver and the three left-side Memories. She glanced to her boyfriend worriedly. "Are you sure?" asked Asuna. "Yeah. This case starts with you. Hence, it's only right that you end it" Kirito explained. The Flash glanced towards the bluenette, who reply with a nod of agreement. Then, Asuna takes the items from Kirito and equipped the Double Driver onto her waist. Hiro's waist had another Double Driver appeared on him as well. Hiro and Asuna stood and Kirito was prepared himself to catch the former's body. **"Cyclone" "Joker"** "Henshin!" Asuna and Hiro yelled before they initiated the transformation mechanism. **"Cyclone Joker"** Asuna's body becomes W while Hiro's body collapsed, which Kirito grabbed when it fell.

* * *

Cyclone Joker then rode on the Hard-Boilder and chased after the red car. Luckily, even though it was far, the green-black Kamen Rider was able to catch up with the vehicle. Upon managing to catch up, Cyclone Joker unleash the front wheel launchers, which it destroyed the car, forcing Hermione to assume her Dopant form as she flew away. The green-black continued to follow Taboo until they reached under the tunnel of a building.

"You're not escaping!" declared Asuna as she had Hard-Boilder on auto-pilot before switching the formation of W. **"Luna Trigger"** The green-black Kamen Rider changed into yellow-blue form. When Taboo turns around, she realised the Kamen Rider was about to launch a finisher on her. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"** Luna Trigger inserted the Trigger Memory into Trigger Magnum and shift it to Maximum Mode before aiming at the rag doll Dopant. Taboo immediately unleashed a few energy bombs at Luna Trigger when she noticed the latter is aiming at her.

"Trigger Full Burst!" yelled Asuna and Hiro before they unleashed multiple charged homing shots, which some of them destroyed the incoming energy bombs and one of it hit Taboo, paralysing her in the air. However, before the remaining shots could hit her, Nasca suddenly came flying in out of nowhere, grabbing the rag doll Dopant away, swiftly from the scene. Because of that, Taboo was saved, and the remaining shots hit the ceilings instead. On the other hand, the energy bombs that was not neutralised hit the ground and forced Luna Trigger to pull off emergency breaks.

Nasca and Taboo went hiding at the stairs that in not noticeable by anyone. The rag doll Dopant realised that her husband came to save her. Not only that, she also realises that he is way different from last time. "Junnosuke-san! Since when you developed Nasca's light speed movement?" asked Hermione worriedly. "I even got my own stubborn side too. I've been training, for your sake" Junnosuke explained.

* * *

Back to where Kamen Rider was…

The polices that happened to be nearby immediately rushed to the scene where the explosions happen. Officer Kagami was among the officers that came. At that time, Luna Trigger is searching for Taboo, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where did she go?" Asuna asked herself before sighing. Then, she heard something started to crack and turned behind. Luna Trigger noticed that the tunnel was collapsing and under one of the pillars, there was a young boy who cowered in fear that he could not flee. "Look out!" cried Asuna as she rushed to the rescue. The tunnel collapse and some of the debris were about to fall onto the boy. Kagami along with the other people nearby was frightened but none of the nearby civilians are brave enough to plunge in. On the other hand, the police are too far away and panicked that they could not move.

 **"Heat Metal"** Asuna changed the formation from yellow-blue to red-grey formation and used Metal Branding to crush the falling debris before it could hit the boy. Then, Heat Metal crouched and went to check on the child. "Are you okay, Boku (boy)?" asked Asuna. The boy, who was cowering in fear then look around and saw Heat Metal.

Everyone around there was glad that the child was all right and sigh in relief. Luckily, Kamen Rider W was able to rescue the boy. "Kamen Rider-san!" Kagami started before he rushed to where Heat Metal was. "Amazing! What tremendous power that power just now!" he complimented while imitating the metal branding move. As the officer approaches the Kamen Rider, the mother of that boy quickly rushed to fetch her child. The rescue boy immediately went to his mother and hugged her.

"Amazing" Kagami complimented, which made Asuna felt proud and nodded accordingly. "You're an ally of justice, right? I always known that from the start. Oh, it's not a lie!" the officer complimented further before chuckling. However, Asuna immediately and irritatingly turned her back for the later comments because what the officer said earlier was totally opposite than what he said now. Somehow, for the Flash, she cannot help but remember Tsuboi Ryoutarou AKA Klein. Why? Because Klein can be an idiot with flip-flopping opinion and the same can be said about Kagami Tetsuo.

"Kagami-san! You sure are full of yourself!" Asuna growled whisperingly, raising her left fist in anger. From this stance, it looks like she wanted to clock Kagami for his flip-flopping opinion. However, Hiro, who was already aware of Kagami's antics longer than the Flash, takes control of W and pushed down Kirito's fist before turning to the officer.

"Officer Kagami. You'll find the impostor Kamen Rider…" Hiro tried to explain but he noticed Asuna tried to show her fist of anger, but the former pushed and held it down again to keep things diplomatic with the officer. "At Tsubame-Cho abandoned factory. Arrest him" he reported. Kagami was speechless at first but then decides to give a salute to the Kamen Rider before replying, "Yes!"

Afterwards, Heat Metal rode onto the Hard-Boilder and left the scene, with Officer Kagami waving at her. While riding away, Asuna had this conversation with Hiro as W. "Why did you stop me?!" Asuna scolded. "I want to give Kagami-san a piece of my mind!" she declared. "Now, now. Kagami-san is skilled at being fooled. That's why he can be like that. Don't worry about it" explained Hiro. "Oh, fine" Asuna grumbled. "At least Kamen Rider's pride is protected"

* * *

That evening, at Asaka Detective Agency…

 _"Kusaka Kenta was arrested. Simultaneously, Tokoha kept her promised and turned herself to the police. Well, I guess it's finally a happy ending for this case, is what I wanted to say. Lis and the others never stopped nagging at me, Asuna and Kirito for hiding the truth that they were kidnapped. At the very least, everyone is all right. That's what matters"_ Hiro thought as he typed the report on the type-writer.

At that time, it was not only Hiro, but Lisbeth and the others were there as well, having an evening tea. While typing the report, the bluenette explained about Fang Memory. "Fang? What kind of Memory is that?" asked Sinon. "It's this guy" said Hiro before Fang appeared on his left-side shoulder and then leaped to where the girls were. "Oh, this guy is Fang?" Lisbeth said curiously. "It looks like a dinosaur" Suguha said before she tried to touch Fang. However, the Memory thought that it was a threat and immediately leaped away before leaving the window, to the girls' surprise.

"Oh, it ran away!" Silica exclaimed. "Sorry, should I go search for it?" volunteered Suguha as she apologised. "It's fine. That guy had always been uncontrollable, so I can't tell when it's going to come for me" explained Hiro.

"Heh? Is that so?" replied Lisbeth. "Speaking of which, where's Kirito and Asuna?" asked Sinon, noticing that the Flash and Black Swordsman were absent. "Oh, those two. They probably go somewhere to talk in private" deduced Hiro. "You sure you're not lying, right?" asked Silica sceptically. "I didn't lie. I did say they were somewhere alone. That's the proof that I'm telling the truth" explained Hiro. "Well, I guess that is true" concurred Lisbeth.

* * *

Simultaneously, at the rooftop of Stream Dormitory…

Asuna and Kirito was gazing at the sun setting as they put their folded arms on the railing. "It's beautiful…" Asuna muttered. "Yeah. This scene isn't too bad after all" commented Kirito. "When I looked at this, I couldn't help but feel at ease. Even though our real homes are far away by time, I felt like it was closer than what I thought" explained Asuna. "Yeah, I agree" concurred Kirito.

"Hey, Kirito-kun" Asuna called out, which made her boyfriend turns to her. "What is it?" asked Kirito. "Do you think… we will return?" asked Asuna worriedly. "Of course. If we could come all the way here, there must be a way for to return" said Kirito confidently, which made his girlfriend smiled.

"That's right. If we can't return, that would be sad but… if Kirito-kun is with me, I guess, no matter where we are. I'm not scared" Asuna admitted. Then, the black swordsman then grabbed his girlfriend's hand and pulled her closer to him, which surprises her. "Kirito-kun?" muttered Asuna. "Me too. Asuna. I want to be with you, forever" Kirito agreed before he leaned his face closer to the Flash and pressed his lips onto hers. The two closed their eyes and Asuna returns the favour by wrapping her arms around his neck. As for Kirito, he placed his arms around her waist to embrace and pull her closer to himself. Those two enjoy a fervent kiss under a sunset.

 **That's it for this chapter. Next one is Begins Night and I tell you, it might be very long, so I might split them into parts if necessary. Also, I am quite busy because I need to finish up my report by 28th March and not to mention there is test on 26th March. By 2nd April, there is presentation. To be blunt, I won't be updating for a while until further notice. That's all.**

 **If you noticed the cover image changes, there are Super Sentai in the background, which are PatRangers and LupinRangers, with PatKaiser Splash being the big robot in the background. They are PART of the story but ONLY and exclusively appeared in one chapter, which is in the mid of the overall plot. I want to point out earlier in case someone think I'm starting to be nonsensical when adding Sentai and Kamen Rider together in some stupid imagination of mine or something. For your information, they are appearing only once in this story in one of the chapters later and NONE of them were portrayed by any of Kirito's friends nor Hiro's. One more thing, the chapter later related to the Sentai cameo and a one-shot (literally speaking) will take a major focus on Pats only with mix of the existing characters. Lupins will not play any important role. They just going to appear, do some things and then bye-bye.**

 **Why? That's what I am deciding, and I love Pats more than Lupins. If you don't get why I am doing this, then please watch Lupin VS Pat from the beginning till the end (Try TV Nihon subs for better understanding, their translation is 90% accurate). By halfway (from episode 30 onwards), you WILL understand why I am doing this. It is a good story but LACK BALANCINGS and very slow pacing (Too many fillers). Do more research if you think you don't get it. In any case, I'm NOT pulling back the fact that I'm going to include this for one-time chapter and as part of this story, regardless of everyone's opinion.**


	8. Fight, Hiro! A Case on Sinon birthday

**19th August 2060, Wednesday**

It was a normal day with fine weather. The Asaka Detective Agency is doing nothing pretty much since they have not got a client yet for today. Silica and Sinon are there, doing the accountings for the business's profit and expenses based on past receipts that had been collected. Kirito was brewing coffee while Hiro was compiling the reports for past cases.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, something came crashing into the office from outside through the window at the pantry. That thing is a stone wrapped with a black enveloped. At that time, the window was closed so when the item came in, it shattered some of the glasses inside the office. The bluenette was not very happy about it and headed towards the window where the stone came from.

"Hey! Who did that?!" Hiro barked and looked around from the broken window. However, there is nobody around. It seems the person who threw it has fled from the scene, to the bluenette's dismay.

As for Kirito and the rest, they come to see what is going on. Silica noticed the stone and picked it up. Then, the twin-tail hair girl saw there is a folded black enveloped tied to it by a rubber band, so she takes it off to read its content. She then started to read what it was mentioned.

"In two days from now, there will be a dangerous trade to take place in Mizar Mountain. Prevent the trade and arrest the people involved in it" Silica recited. "What is this? A request?" asked Sinon. Hiro and Kirito heard what the twin-tail hair girl said and approached her. Silica then looked inside the letter and saw a signed cheque with value of 30,000 yen.

"What should we do? There's even advance payment. Should we accept this?" asked Silica. "Hell no!" Hiro argued, taking the envelope and the content from Silica. "Like I'm going to accept a request that came from someone breaking my office's window! I'm going to find who's responsible and return this! While at it, I'm going to charge that person for the window repair!" he proclaimed angrily while pointing to the broken window. "But, 30000 yen is more than enough to cover for the detective fee and the repair. Plus, you can even buy some camping equipment" Silica pointed out. "Don't mess with me! Like I'm going to accept this bribe as an apology!" Hiro berated. "This is hardly a bribe though. It's a request" Kirito stated.

"Don't get blinded by money!" scolded Hiro. "In any case, why don't we check out that mountain and fulfil this request? There's a chance this sender will be observing us if we accept it. In other words, we could meet that person there" Sinon suggested. The bluenette then slammed the envelop onto the table angrily, which surprises the rest. "Just you wait, you prankster jerk! Once I found you, I'm not letting you off easily!" Hiro declared.

* * *

 **20th August 2060, Thursday**

After accepting the request that came in unorthodoxly yesterday, Kirito, Sinon, Hiro and Silica went to buy tents and other related camping equipment. Today, they are on their way to Mizar Mountain, which located at the outskirt of Amanohara City. The quartet went there by bus, which took 2 hours before they started climbing. About an hour of climbing including breaks, they arrived at a suitable camping spot, which is near the report. For the next two hours, they prepared themselves to set up the tent along with getting the firewood for campfire.

Though for Hiro, he was so impatient. After helping his friends with the preparation, he straight out going around the forest, looking for the sender who threw the stone into the agency. He even sent the Memory Gadgets, Bat Shot, Stag Phone and Spider Shock to do the searching as well. As for the rest, they went to catch some fishes by the river.

* * *

5 hours later…

It is already dark. Hiro returned alongside the Memory Gadgets to the campsite where his friends were, empty-handed and frustrated. At that time, Kirito and the girls had set up a campfire while cooking fishes, each impaled with a stick. They even bring potatoes, which the girls had wrapped them with aluminium foils before departing. The trio noticed the bluenette's return.

"Welcome back. How did it go?" asked Kirito after greeting his partner. "No good. There's nobody else except us" Hiro whined as he walked to where his friends were and sat in between Kirito and Sinon, which means he was on the opposite position from where Silica was.

"What's going on?" asked Silica with concerns. "Perhaps the request was a mere prank?" she suggested. "That sounds too good to be true…" Kirito stated sceptically. "Whichever it is. I'm tired of this. I just want to go back home soon…" sighed Hiro in disappointment. Looks like he was exhausted with the whole searching but returned emptyhanded.

Then, Sinon approaches him with one of the cooked fishes and a wrapped potato. "Cheer up. Here, it's all ready to eat" she applauded before giving the said foods to the bluenette.

Hiro then glanced to the Beauty Sniper and was speechless for a bit. He was not sad about not being able to accomplish his duty but rather enchanted by Sinon's act of kindness to him.

"Oh. Thank you…" Hiro thanked while slowly accepting the cooked fish and potato from Sinon. The beauty sniper then returns to her seat. "Nice timing. We were about to eat dinner. Then…" said Silica as she and the rest take their foods, getting ready to eat. "Itadakimasu!" the four of them announced in unison before started enjoying their meals.

"This potato is unexpectedly good! It's my first time eating one from cooking outdoors" Kirito commented as he was eating the cooked potato. "Isn't it? I heard from Suguha" Sinon said. "This fish taste really good too. I guess there is a difference in the freshness" Silica stated.

"Because the fish that we usually eat are stored in freezer after cleaning and only cook when we wanted. But, in this case, we had to cook all of them because we don't have a storage to keep them for long time. By the time we reached the end of the mountain, the fish become smelly and taste bad" Sinon explained.

"You know a lot about this, Sinon-san" Silica commented. "I learn from the books and got some advice from Asuna" Sinon explained. "Eh? Is that so?" Kirito replied before he and the girls continue enjoying their food.

As for the bluenette, he was staring at the Beauty Sniper, seemingly charmed by her. _"Asada Shino… Sinon"_ thought Hiro. Sinon noticed the bluenette's staring and was uneasy about it. She started to touch her face, wondering if there something not supposed to be was on her face.

"Hiro. Is there something on my face?" asked Sinon, which made the bluenette snapped to reality. "No. Nothing. Sorry…" Hiro apologised before continue eating his meal. As for the black swordsman, he noticed there is something odd about his partner behaviour.

* * *

Three hours later…

After finishing their meals and chatting, they returned to their respective tents, getting ready to sleep. Hiro and Kirito in one tent while Silica and Sinon on the other one. Of course, their tents are a distance away from each other but not too far as one kilometre.

In the girls' tent…

The twin-tail hair girl was still sitting on her sleeping spot while the beauty sniper had just lied down on her own. "Hey, Sinon-san. Do you realise it?" asked Silica. "What?" Sinon asked back. "It's Hiro-san. During dinner, he was staring at you. Did you think he likes you?" Silica pointed out, which made the Beauty Sniper gets up and flustered.

"Hold it! What are you talking about, Silica?!" Sinon, somehow nervous from what the twin-tail hair girl said before the latter gets up as well. "Isn't that so? After all, when a boy is staring at a girl for a certain time, he started to develop affection to her" Silica explained.

"That's nonsense. There's nothing really attractive about me" Sinon said humbly. "But… Ayumu-chan told me. Hiro-san had a liking to a girl wearing glasses. It somehow reminds him of his mother. Plus, Sinon-san wear glasses after all. I just thought Hiro-san staring at you was a sign that he likes you" Silica explained.

"Enough! I'm going to sleep!" Sinon snapped as she lied down to sleep, which made the twin-tail hair girl grinned. "Oh… Sinon-san looks cute when she's flustered…" teased Silica. "Shut up… Just go to sleep already" grumbled Sinon. "Okay!" Silica said cheerfully before getting to bed as well.

In the boys' tent…

Kirito and Hiro are not sleeping yet. They are currently sitting while facing each other while conversing. "Eh?! You like Sinon?!" Kirito exclaimed after hearing Hiro's whispering confession of the girl he likes. The bluenette panicked and quickly use his hand to cover the black swordsman's mouth. "SHSSH! Your voice is too loud!" whispered Hiro angrily before letting go of his hand and backs off.

"Sorry…" Kirito apologised mutteringly. "But, why the sudden confession? I thought your crush is Sara Lindsey Elisabeth?" asked Kirito, who confused about who the bluenette fell in love with.

"Well… any guy fell in love with an idol… but…" Hiro stutteringly replied. "The competition is very tough to begin with when it comes to well-known people like her. I don't really stand a chance. On the other hand, Sinon-san is pretty, kind and smart. At the very least, we can see each other every day and I might had a chance with her more than Princess Sara. You know what people said, don't let the chance in front of you pass, you'll regret not taking it. In other words, rather than chasing after Princess Sara, which I don't have a chance of getting her falling in love with me, I should chase after Sinon-san. That's what I thought" he justified.

"I really wonder about that? That beauty sniper is more cold-blooded than you think. If you're not careful with your words, you'll step into a landmine" warned Kirito. "Fine… I'm serious when I said I like her. A man cannot back off just because the woman he likes is emotionally sensitive. After all, once you proceed to marriage stage, you accepted everything about your life partner, including their flaws" Hiro proclaimed.

"Oh, you're serious?" Kirito replied with an eerie grin on his face. The bluenette somehow feel offended with the black swordsman's expression. "I don't want to hear that from you with that smug look on your face, playboy" Hiro retorted, which made the black swordsman chuckled amusingly.

"Sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean any malice" Kirito apologised. Then the black swordsman realised something, which make his expression changed. "Come to think of it, tomorrow is her birthday…" he muttered.

The bluenette was stunned from this revelation as well. "Tomorrow? 21st August?" echoed Hiro. "Yeah… That's right" Kirito confirmed, which somehow made the bluenette disappointed. "Man… how pathetic I am… How could I didn't research such basic info about the girl I like… If I know, I wouldn't have involved her in this request around this date" sighed Hiro. The black swordsman suddenly puts on another eerie grin on his face.

" _Ah le le_ … Could it be that you wanted to give Sinon a special present?" guessed Kirito teasingly. The bluenette was irritated with the derogatory remark by his partner. "What's with that _Ah le le_? What's so unnatural about me giving a present for someone's birthday?" Hiro questioned, which the black swordsman chuckled for a bit. "I mean… If you give a present to Sinon, here's what it would look like…" Kirito suggested before he started to imagine something.

* * *

 _(Kirito's Imaginative Spot Began)_

In Kirito's mind, he was thinking of Hiro meeting Sinon somewhere alone. The bluenette had his hands on the back, holding a wrapped present. As for the beauty sniper, she was wondering what he wanted. "What is it, Hiro?" asked Sinon. A moment afterwards, the bluenette brings his hand forward and presented his gift for the Beauty Sniper, which made her surprise.

"Happy Birthday, Sinon-san. Here, it's a present from me" Hiro said. "Thank you, Hiro" Sinon thanked as she accepted the present from him and held it close to her chest. "Um… Sinon-san…" Hiro muttered. "Yes?" asked Sinon. At that time, the bluenette was nervously fidgeting his fingers when he wanted to say something. "I… love you… more than anything else in the Earth" Hiro confessed with his face flush a bit. This love confession in turn made the beauty sniper became flustered and her face redden as a tomato. In addition, she was caught off guard because it came suddenly out of nowhere. "Um… Hiro… I…" Sinon stuttered while trying to reply something. A moment later, she muttered something. "I… love you too…"

The bluenette had a smile form on his face upon his face upon hearing the requited response for his confession and takes the initiative to embrace the beauty sniper, wrapping his arms around her neck. Sinon was flustered from this sudden act of affection but did not hate it. Instead, she happily returns the gesture by wrapping her arms around his waist.

 _(Kirito's Imaginative Spot End)_

* * *

"That's what will happen… Perhaps you two might kiss" Kirito concluded with a carefree smile on his face. "What do you think? Isn't that romantic and plastic?" he asked and chuckled. However, the black swordsman did not realise that while he was talking all that, the bluenette was clenching his right hand into a fist, getting ready to clock Kirito.

"Kirito… You punk…!" Hiro growled. "What?" Kirito asked as he stopped laughing before the bluenette stood and suddenly placed his right fist on the former's head. The black swordsman was wondering what his partner was trying to do.

"Finishing move… _Drill Punch_!" Hiro declared before started to press his right fist and spin it like a drill {back and forth spinning, not in 360 degrees}, causing Kirito to yelp in pain for a bit before the former halted. When the torture was done, the black swordsman then tries to tend his poor head which he mentally thinks had a hole drilled inside.

"Cut it out with that your stupid thinking! And there's nothing plastic about love! At most, it is _pragmatic_!" Hiro berated. "Sorry, sorry… I'm just joking" Kirito apologised jokingly, which made the bluenette pouts.

"That's enough. I'm an idiot for trying to ask an advice from a guy who got many girls up his sleeve. Just go to sleep. We got work to do tomorrow" Hiro said while sulking before he went back to his sleeping spot and went to bed. As for the black swordsman, he just shrugged before going to bed as well.

* * *

 **21st August 2060, Friday**

The next day, after getting breakfast and everything, Kirito and the others went to explore the mountain. They split into pairs for the job, which the first one was Kirito and Silica while the second pair being Hiro and Sinon. Apart from each pair had a Stag Phone with their male partners, Silica and Sinon held onto Bat Shot and Spider Shock gadget respectively. The pairs release the Memory Gadgets into the mountain to increase their search coverage.

For the next one hour, Hiro and Sinon still had no luck in finding anything out of ordinary. The duo has not talk about anything trivial yet to each other this morning apart from the mission. However, the beauty sniper was observing at the bluenette the whole time when they move around during the search. _"Hiro likes me? That can't be possible…"_ thought Sinon.

As for the bluenette, he was having a bit of regret for dragging the beauty sniper into this request, during her special day. _"What have I done? If I knew from the beginning that today was Sinon-san's birthday, I wouldn't had brought her here"_ sighed Hiro as he pondered.

Then as the two continued exploring together, Spider Shock and Stag Phone returned to them, making sounds as if indicating they found something odd. The duo glanced to each other and nodded before having the Memory Gadgets guided them.

In a few minutes, they approached a flat area that happens to be nearby to a waterfall. Sinon and Hiro quickly hide into the bushes when they spotted a group of suspicious people making a trade within a slightly open area. Afterwards, the bluenette and beauty sniper stealthily and slowly try to peek at where those people are. They even brought compact binoculars for this job and see through the mentioned item.

There is a total of four from their views. One is a chubby man wearing white suit with bald head and grey eyes. His name is Aramaki Retsu, an underground dealer. The other two besides him are his male bodyguards, A and B wearing black suits and sunglasses. One of them, bodyguard B was carrying a briefcase, presumably filled with money. Though, for the last one, it is unknown what gender that person was. That individual is the only one wearing a black cloak that concealed the whole body, including his/her own faces. In addition, that last person was holding a wooden box. Judging from this situation, it can be presumed that the cloak person is the seller and the trio wearing suits are the buyers.

For some reason, the bluenette's expression changed a bit when he saw the man in white suit, which may indicate there is a sign of familiarity. "That man…" muttered Hiro, which his buddy noticed. "Do you know him?" asked Sinon.

"I only heard the rumours, but that man was an underground dealer called Aramaki Retsu. If I am not mistaken, he goes by the nickname of _Snake_. He's infamous for smuggling illegal goods into this country. On top of that, anyone involved with him won't get off easily. Even now, the police had trouble catching him" explained Hiro, which some of it surprises the beauty sniper. "He's that dangerous?" Sinon asked worriedly, which the bluenette reluctantly nodded. Then, the duo continued to observe those suspicious people.

"You have the money, right?" asked the person in black cloak. Judging from the guttural voice, that seller's gender is male. "Who do you think I am?" snorted Retsu before he gave a head gesture to his subordinate holding the briefcase, telling him to show the content. Bodyguard B then did per told, showing to the seller the cash that Snake brought. The amount in the briefcase is very high, presumably at least a million.

The seller then glanced at the money for a while before backing off. "Very well. The goods are all yours. Use them as you please" the man in black cloak agreed before handing over the wooden box to Retsu's other bodyguard. "Check the content" ordered Retsu to his bodyguard A, who nodded and opens up the box. Inside it were many smaller rectangular blocks tied with black tapes. On top of that, each block had wires of different colours connecting from it to a digital panel and keypads. These items are plastic explosives called C4, a type of chemical explosives under Composition C family. Bodyguard A checked the contents and turned to Retsu before giving a nod after complete inspection. Then, Snake's other bodyguard handed over the briefcase of money to the cloak man, who accepted it. "Nice doing business with you" the seller said before taking his leave.

As for the duo, they noticed the content inside when peeking through their binoculars when the trade take place. "What are those?" asked Hiro curiously. As for the beauty sniper, she recognised well those are explosives and became horrified. "Those are… C4s!" gasped Sinon whisperingly, which got the bluenette's attention. "C4s? Where did I hear that term before?" asked Hiro, trying to recall where he heard the term.

"Composition 4 plastic explosives. In other words, bombs…" explained Sinon nervously. "Bombs?!" gasped Hiro whisperingly before looking back to where the dealers were. "Yes… Judging from that small size, just one of it can destroy anything within a radius of one kilometre or to be simply said, two kilometres in diameter " Sinon added her assumption. "Oh-la-la. This isn't something we can turn a blind eye on" said Hiro.

Suddenly, the bodyguard B takes out his gun and shoot at the area nearby Sinon and Hiro, surprising them as they back off in shock. "What's wrong?" asked Retsu. "Looks like there are some mountain rats spying on us" bodyguard B reported before pointing the gun towards the same area again. "Show yourselves!" he yelled demandingly.

A moment afterwards, Hiro and Sinon came out of hiding, revealing themselves, with the former stepping forward while placing a protective arm to defend the latter.

"Who are you?" questioned Retsu. "Oozora Hiro, a detective" Hiro introduced himself. "Detective?" echoed Retsu. "I got a client about some dangerous trade going to happen here, so I came here to check. Who would have thought you're smuggling bombs, Aramaki Retsu?" explained Hiro. "No…should I call you Snake?" he asked courteously. Somehow, Snake does seem amused to hear this.

"Oh, you knew me well. I'm flattered" commented Retsu with sarcasm and amusement. "But too bad… None of you are leaving alive" he said, taking out a Gaia Memory. It was dark green in colour and the label had a snake with its tongue sticking out while its body formed the letter 'C'. The name of the memory was stated to be Cobra.

The beauty sniper and bluenette were horrified to see the underground dealer had an item more dangerous than C4 explosives. "Gaia Memory?!" gasped Sinon. **"Cobra"** Retsu pressed the button on that Gaia Memory, which made a living connector appeared on his forehead. Afterwards, the man with the nickname Snake inserts the said item onto the port, transforming himself into a Dopant called Cobra.

Retsu now grew larger in size and his legs become skinny as a snake while the body become muscular. The body was dark green, and its scale was light brown. It has yellow eyes and spiky jaws along with forked tongue. While it retains the human looking body for the upper part, each hand had their fingers reduced from five to four, but all the fingers had sharp nails, which are venomous.

The duo becomes horrified that they could hardly move due to fear. "This place shall be your graves" declared Retsu before he gave a hand sign, ordering his subordinates to open fire. Bodyguard A and B then started shooting with their guns at the duo, which surprises as they barely managed to avoid getting hit by just an angle. Afterwards, Hiro took the initiative to rush after Sinon, grabbed her hand and flee together.

The beauty sniper was surprised from this but realised she cannot be arguing about it because they are in danger and decided to go along with the bluenette. The duo run and run as fast as they can. As for Cobra and his subordinates, they went after Hiro and Sinon as well.

However, this time, the snake Dopant was a bit more fearsome than the two man in suits that are armed with guns during the chase. Cobra easily slithered on the rough surface and was faster than normal humans.

In just a few seconds, the snake Dopant managed to overwhelm the duo and appeared in front of them. This forces them to halt their steps. By the time Hiro and Sinon are surrounded, they are at near a cliff, where the bottom of it was a river with turbulent flow. The bluenette and beauty sniper looked around themselves and realised they got surrounded by enemies. The duo was forced to retreat near the cliff, which is obviously a dead end and noticed the river below it. "Now, you don't have anywhere else to run!" declared Cobra, which made the bluenette gritted his teeth in frustration.

 _"Darn it! We're surrounded! If that's the case, I should fight as Kamen Rider Cyclone. But… If I move carelessly, Sinon-san might get killed the moment I tried to transform? Just what I should do?"_ Hiro pondered as he hesitated to take out the Lost Driver from his clothing while looking at Sinon, worrying about her safety.

"Die!" declared Cobra before he summoned a purple energy ball from his palm and lobbed it towards the duo. Hiro tried to shield Sinon with his back from the attack but unfortunately it was useless because the shot landed on the floor in front of them. Even though it does not hit them, the exploded energy ball did emit a large shockwave that sent them both flying. The duo screamed as they fell into the turbulent river and got drifted with its flow. It is unknown what happened to them specifically. As for Kirito and Silica who were far away, they both heard the screams and the splashing sound as it echoed throughout the forest. The pair becomes worried about their friends.

* * *

15 minutes later, at the bottom of the valley…

Hiro and Sinon were seen lying down near the river and unconscious. The bluenette was on the prone position with his palms touching the ground. As for Sinon, she was slightly in supine position, with her head facing to her left. It seems the two of them eventually drifted there after they fell into the turbulent river.

A few seconds later, the bluenette's brows started to furrow a bit and he slowly regain consciousness. Hiro opens his eyes with his left hand trying to sooth his head while his right hand pressed on the ground to help himself get up. He did cough a little from his body being immersed in the cold river water for some period. He then looks around himself and saw the beauty sniper not too far from him before becoming worried. "Sinon-san!" Hiro cried out as he scuffled to where she was and started to shake her shoulders. "Sinon-san! Sinon-san! Hang in there!" the bluenette yelled worriedly, hoping for Sinon to regain consciousness.

However, despite shaking her body from her shoulders and asking for her wellbeing, the beauty sniper remained unresponsive to the bluenette's attempt to wake her up. The bluenette then becomes horrified, thinking that Sinon is in danger of her heart suddenly stopped from being drowned into the water. "It can't be? Cardiac arrest?!" gasped Hiro. The bluenette almost panicked but then realised he need to keep calm or else things become worse than it supposed to be.

 _"Calm down, Hiro. There must be something you can do. Just what did you learn from your life-saving training?"_ Hiro pondered before something came to his mind and realised the answer. He remembered that in this situation was Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation or abbreviated CPR. "That's it. Artificial Respiration! But…" gasped Hiro before he muttered hesitatingly. The idea that comes to his mind was doing rescue breathing or artificial respiration, which requires mouth to mouth operation.

However, the fact that the victim was a female and someone he likes kept him from doing the rescue breathing out of embarrassment. The bluenette soon realised his foolishness and shakes his head frustratingly. "No! I can't be hesitating over things like that in an emergency! Forgive me, Sinon-san!" he declared and apologised before beginning to perform the rescue operation.

First and foremost, Hiro pulled Sinon's head back and then lifted her neck before opening her mouth by tilting her chin downward to confirm the airway [the passage from the mouth and nose towards the lungs, which allows air to come in to our body] in her body. After confirming her tongue did not obstruct the passage, he takes a short breath before putting his own mouth on top of Sinon's perpendicularly while his right and left hand holding the neck (to feel the breathing pulse) and pinching the nose respectively. Next, he started performing the rescue breath by gently exhaling into her mouth once to make her chest rise according to the procedure. The bluenette noticed his first rescue breath make her chest rises and performed another rescue breathing, gently for a minute. Then, he could feel a pulse on her neck and hear the faint sound of flowing water, which causes the bluenette to stop his artificial respiration. As he stopped, a small amount of water started spouting out from Sinon's mouth like a fountain and she coughed a few times. The bluenette was glad as he held the beauty Sniper in his arms, with his left hand holding her head. "I'm so glad. You're okay" sighed Hiro in relief.

After managing to regain consciousness, Sinon glanced to where the bluenette was in a confused look. "Where are we?" she asked. "I think we're at the bottom of this valley. It can't be helped. We got blown into the river because of that Dopant's attack" explained Hiro. "I see…" muttered Sinon, somehow feeling upset.

"But, I'm so glad. The river flow was very turbulent, and we just fell into it without warning. In the end, we got drifted here. I'm okay but there's too much water entered your body and you experience cardiac arrest" Hiro started talking, not realising that he was trying to cause trouble. The beauty sniper was horrified upon hearing that familiar scientific term. "Eh?! Cardiac arrest?!" gasped Sinon.

"Don't worry. You're all right now. I already perform Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on you" Hiro assured her by telling that he gave the stated treatment. "CPR?! Could it be…?" trailed Sinon, having a rough idea of the thing that she did not want to know. "Yes. It's from mouth to mouth rescue breathing. Don't worry. I'm properly trained to do it" explained Hiro further before assuring his credibility for the artificial respiration.

Sinon's face immediately turned red as a tomato when she realised what the bluenette meant. The 'mouth to mouth' terms just indicates that he _kissed_ her, as in from _lips to lips_. To be precise, Hiro had just stolen her first kiss when she has no boyfriend to begin with and he did that through the excuse of mouth to mouth rescue breathing. On top of that, she may have _preferred_ Kirito to do that since she holds feelings of affection for the black swordsman. However, the one who stole it was someone she did not hold feelings for.

As for the bluenette, he just realised that he blurted out something he should not have said. It was the fact he gave a mouth to mouth rescue breathing. _"Oh no! I said it!"_ Hiro gasped in horror within his mind when he realised what he just said. The situation becomes awkward due to long silence of realising what happened. A few seconds later, the bluenette, while shaking, slowly glanced down to where Sinon was and becomes horrified. It is because the beauty Sniper had her face looking very vexed, with her teeth clenching and growling expression. The bluenette can totally implied _this is not going to be good_ on his face and became panicked when the girl in his arms is raising her left hand as high as she could.

"You pervert!" Sinon shrieked as she slapped the bluenette, leaving a red handprint _on his face,_ specifically on his right side. "Ow!" Hiro yelped, trying to sooth the pain part that he received. At this time, the beauty sniper gets off from the bluenette's arm and pushed him away irritatingly. She can now sit down without support from him.

"What are you thinking?! You just stole my first kiss!" Sinon berated perturbingly and irritatingly. "Kiss? Wait! You thought that was a kiss?" Hiro asked with a confused look as the beauty sniper glared at him while her face was slightly red. "What else can it be if our lips get in contact with each other?!" Sinon scolded. "But… That can't be count as a kiss" Hiro argued. However, this causes the beauty sniper to give him another slap on his face, this time for his left side using her right hand. "Ow!" Hiro yelped as he tries to sooth it with his hands after receiving another red handprint.

"Hurry and apologise before I give you another one!" ordered Sinon aggressively as she readied herself to give more slapping. The said bluenette immediately bow with both his hands on the floor, trying to beg for mercy. "I'm terribly sorry! I was worried when you didn't respond to me calling you together with the thought that your heart stopped functioning! At first, I was a bit hesitant and I could have just used chest compression… but if I didn't do it when I can do it, I might regret leaving you to die later!" Hiro apologised with a remorseful tone.

Somehow, upon hearing the bluenette's honest beg-pardon, Sinon's anger suddenly diminished greatly. While Hiro took her first kiss through mouth to mouth rescue breathing is a fact, the same thing could be said about the beauty sniper herself experienced Cardiac Arrest. Should the bluenette hesitated, it would be too late if she dies.

The beauty sniper feels a bit mortified and wanted to apologise but suddenly, raindrops started falling on her face, which she noticed. Then, both Sinon and Hiro look above them. Multiple raindrops started to fall, and the amounts are increasing with every second passing. "This is bad… It's raining!" gasped Sinon.

As for the bluenette, he glanced around to find a place for them to take shelter. Soon, he noticed a cave that is not too far from them. "Let's get into that cave" Hiro suggested, pointing his finger towards the mentioned location, which the beauty sniper also noticed.

Without wasting any time, the duo makes a run to the said cave as the raining started to become heavier and heavier. Luckily, they managed to arrive in there in a few minutes. However, their clothing is drenching even more than it supposed to be after they fell into the river. On top of that, the cave became almost pitch-black due to the sky becoming dark from the sudden raining. It goes without saying that a cave is already freezing on its own. Adding a rain to it is just no different than adding ices to cold water.

"It's cold!" Sinon muttered as she started shivering and wrapped her arms around her body. The bluenette noticed this and became worried about her. He glanced around and try to see if there is a spot that resemble a hearth. Soon, he noticed a small spot which somehow looks like a fireplace and slowly approached it, which the beauty sniper noticed. "What are you trying to do?" asked Sinon. "It's obvious. We should light a fire on this" Hiro answered, referring to the spot that resembles a hearth. However, the beauty sniper was sceptical about his statement.

"It's impossible. Even though there is some leftover burnt wood on there, it might not last long if a fire was lit. Plus, it is raining too heavily for us to go outside to get some firewood in the forest. And how do you plan to start up a fire in this humid condition?" Sinon questioned arguably, which only made the bluenette grin.

"No problem. I got these" Hiro answered with an assuring look as he takes out the Lost Driver and his three Gaia Memories: Cyclone, Heat and Luna. Sinon was puzzled by what the bluenette was trying to say. Then, instead of continuing to explain, Hiro decides that demonstrating is the better option and he started by putting the Lost Driver on his waist, which becomes a belt with a Maximum Slot before holding Luna Memory in his right hand. **"Luna"**

"Henshin!" the bluenette yelled and insert the memory into the driver before pushing the injected slot to the right. **"Luna"** Hiro immediately transformed into Kamen Rider Luna, which is an identical form to W, except both sides are yellow, and it was a black line separating them to be symmetrical.

After transforming, the yellow Kamen Rider takes out the W-sword and use it to summon a few fluorescent energy lights, which is in white-yellow colours. Those energy lights then go around and started shining, which lighted the almost pitch-black cave and allows better sight.

Afterwards, Hiro changed from Luna to Heat form. From there, he used the same sword and pointed at the hearth, which a flame was lit, causing the said spot to be torched. Lastly, the bluenette changed to Cyclone form and creates a small whirlwind on the hearth. The purpose for this was to maintain the formed fire for a period of time.

The beauty sniper became speechless after witnessing what the bluenette did. Sinon totally forgot that Hiro was the right-side of W, which controls wind, fire and light. Seeing him be able to do things like this, especially the current situation, makes her glad that she was partnered with him during the search. "This should make us warm for a bit even if we don't have any firewood. I guess for around six hours" Hiro stated.

Afterwards, the bluenette undo the transformation and invited Sinon to sit near the fire. The beauty sniper then went near it and sat at one spot while the bluenette sat at another one, which is on the opposite direction from the former.

Then, Sinon started to put her hands towards the fire to feel the heat. "This is hot… Thank you, Hiro" the beauty sniper thanked him. Though she noticed the bluenette was fidgeting with his fingers, somehow nervous about something. "What's wrong?" asked Sinon. There was a brief silence, until the bluenette decided to speak.

"Um… I have a suggestion. Seeing as our clothing are wet, it's not a good idea to keep wearing it…" Hiro explained, which made the beauty sniper slightly frown from this. She can tell the bluenette literally wants her to strip. "In other words, you're telling me to strip nude?" asked Sinon with sarcasm.

"No, no! I just want to say we just take out only our outer wears. I'm not telling you to take off your underwear as well" Hiro explained clearly, which the beauty sniper still had that frowning look on her face. "Do you really think I'm going to do that? So that you can see me in my underwear?" Sinon asked sarcastically, again.

"I mean we just have to dry our wet clothing by the fire. Of course, I promise I won't look at you when you're taking off your clothes or while the clothes are drying" explained Hiro again, which earns him an untrusty glare from the beauty sniper again and this made him sweat-dropped. Somehow, he needs to clear the misunderstanding and do it right. "At this rate, both of us going to catch a cold. And we could save time for our clothes to dry by doing this" Hiro added, which leave a short silence in the atmosphere. In a few minutes, the beauty sniper exasperatedly replied, "Okay. I guess you got a point there"

Soon, they decided to start the plan Hiro himself suggested. First, Sinon decides to switch her sitting place with Hiro and lets him take the initiative to remove his outer wears, including his pants. Luckily, he was wearing a short blue tracksuit underneath. After telling Sinon that he had done taking off his clothes and placed it for drying, it was now her turn to do so.

The beauty sniper then ordered him to turn away from her, by telling him to sit on the rock with his head looking to the outside of the cave. On top of that, she even warned him not to try peek at her taking off her clothing and until she puts them back after her outer wears dried, which the bluenette agreed. As Sinon take off her clothes, the bluenette kept his promise and did not turned to look at her. The beauty sniper was wearing black bra and panty underneath her outer clothing.

Afterwards, she puts her clothes near the fire to dry it before sitting down again. Of course, Hiro can tell that she is done with the undressing when he heard her sitting down. As much as the bluenette was tempted to look at Sinon in her underwear, he must keep his promise that he declared.

"Hey, Hiro. Why are you going as far as to help me?" asked Sinon. "Because I like you" answered Hiro, which made the beauty sniper raised a brow. "Like? Why do you like me?" asked Sinon.

"You need a reason? Geez, it's a natural part of me as a boy to hold affection for a girl. Well, if you insisted for a reason, that feeling of like started to manifest and build when you helped me earnestly without discrimination yesterday. Not to mention your sincere smile when you did that. I was captivated by your actions and I desire to learn more about you. No, perhaps a simple way of concluding it is that I want to make everything about you for myself" Hiro elucidated. "So, what's your opinion about me? Do you like me, as a lover?" he asked, which the question somehow made the beauty sniper look annoyed.

"I'm flattered with your compliment but no. I'm not going to fell for someone who just took away my first kiss with some CPR rescue breathing" Sinon commented bluntly, which made the bluenette feel offended about the reason for it.

"Ouch! You sure reject me quick and be direct about it!" Hiro said with a pouting look but then changed to his normal expression. "But… I guess it can't be helped. We can't be together even if we wanted to. This might be for the best. It's better me than you get hurt on this kind of matter if we get serious about it" the bluenette concluded.

The beauty sniper then became confused about the bluenette's reaction. She literally just rejected him for trying to gain her affection, yet he suddenly agreed that they cannot be together. Of course, she was interested to know his reasons for saying that. "Eh? Why? What do you mean when you said that?" asked Sinon curiously.

"Isn't it obvious? We came from two different worlds and you must return to your world. If we ended up being lovers before that, it might hurt both of us. After all, if you return, I won't be able to see you again. On top of that, I might worry about you started to forget me and love someone else. The opposite way could happen to you too. Plus, if we gone far too intimate with our relationship by that time, it'll be too late to turn back. We both going to suffer the consequences. I don't think I could accept that… no… I guess no one wants it like that anyway. Even if love knows no boundaries, this is obviously impossible. If I'm serious about liking you yet cannot be the one to make you happy, I should consider and support your decisions about who you wanted to be with in the end. In spite of everything, happiness is not something you can force into others" Hiro explained, somehow desolated about the fact that he said. Even though he pointed out all those things to Sinon for her question, it was the bluenette himself who felt the true meaning of every single word. Hence, it is not the beauty sniper's rejection but rather the facts he was aware about regarding the big differences between them made him sad.

Upon hearing this from the bluenette, Sinon was a bit speechless. What Hiro said was right. Every single one of it. Their origins did not favour them to be romantically involved with each other if they desired to. On top of that, it is not something that they should take on lightly.

"Sorry…for saying weird things out of the blue. I guess I'm not thinking straight because I was rejected. After all, beggars can't be choosers. Forget what I said" Hiro apologised despondently, somehow his eyes were shedding tears inadvertently. The beauty sniper can tell that he was crying when she saw him putting his right hand on his hand, indicating that he was trying to wipe his tears.

There is a short silence in the atmosphere. Then, Sinon suddenly gets up and sit right behind him. To be specific, she had her back laid against his, which surprises him. "Wait, what are you doing?" Hiro asked nervously, not turning his head back. "Isn't this a better way to keep our body warm quicker?" Sinon asked suggestively. "W…Well… It's true… but this is…" Hiro stutteringly agreed, someway could not shake the anxiety of having a girl leaning her own back on his. His heart skips a beat and, in more ways than one, he could start to get various ideas of what the beauty sniper tries to imply by doing this.

"Y…You better not get any weird ideas, you got it? I'm not doing this because I like you or anything!" Sinon said stutteringly with a flustered expression. Her heartbeat was thumping nervously. Of course, even if she did not like the bluenette romantically, it was her feminine instinct of doing it with a male that causes her to feel like that. "All right, Sinon-san…" Hiro replied, somehow started to smile and feel happy. Naturally, this is something a guy cannot experience everyday and he was grateful for it. Though, it does not stop him from starting to get nonsensical ideas when he feels her bare skin. _"Oh-la-la, Sinon-san's skin is so smooth… It feels so good…"_ Hiro thought nervously as he started to blush. His pulse was beating vigorously due to the fact he was this close with a woman. Not to mention, it is somehow he bears a crush on, which is Sinon. He really wishes this could last forever but then, he knew it will end regardless whether he like it or not.

* * *

An hour later…

The rain had finally stopped. On top of that, their clothing had fully dried as well. Sinon and Hiro took turns as they dressed up again before leaving the cave. Somehow, they are glad that the rain stopped. "The rain finally stopped" Hiro stated. "Yes… Our clothes dried as well. It's all thanks to you, Hiro" Sinon agreed before thanking him. The bluenette became flustered by this, especially when he saw her gentle smile of giving gratitude to him. "You're welcome…" Hiro replied nervously, which made the beauty sniper giggled when he saw him embarrassed.

Though, their happy moment did not last long. On the cliff above them, Cobra Dopant was aiming at the beauty sniper. It seems he was about to shoot some jaws at her from his mouth. The bluenette noticed his presence and by the time he did, Cobra launches the shot and it was heading towards Sinon. "Look out!" yelled Hiro suddenly as he run towards Sinon, which surprises her.

Before she could say anything, the bluenette grabbed her hand, pulled the beauty sniper away towards himself and then spun to the opposite direction, causing her to miss shot. However, this means, it was Hiro who took the attack and all those jaws stabbed his back, making him froze. Those jaws started to emit purple poisonous liquid when it hits the bluenette. Hiro's face immediately went pale and he collapsed to the floor, which shocked Sinon upon seeing just what happened. "Hiro!" she yelled worriedly and approached him.

She then noticed the impaled jaws on his back and their poison injecting into the bluenette. "This is… poison?!" gasped Sinon as she realised what is going on.

"That's right!" said a familiar voice, which the beauty sniper noticed Cobra on the cliff above her. "Retsu!" gasped Sinon. "What a foolish man, covering for you" Retsu jeered. Sinon was shocked to hear this before looking at the bluenette. Hiro protected her, but he was in big danger as he was writhing in pain from the poison.

Though, before Sinon could do anything, Cobra extend his tails to where the duo was and intertwined her with it. The beauty sniper was horrified and yelled from what just happened before the said tail lifted her towards the snake Dopant. "Let me go!" yelled Sinon as she struggled to break free but to no avail. "Oh well, I guess I can just torture you to death. It's been a while since I did one against a lady" Cobra sneered before he decided to leave. Though, Sinon realised Hiro was squirming and dying from the poison. "Hiro!" Sinon yelled worriedly before she got taken away.

* * *

10 minutes later…

At a flat ground somewhere, there is a cottage belonged to Retsu and he was there with his subordinates. The captured Sinon was tied against a tree while standing. Snake, already in human form is observing his subordinates sorting out the C4s, apparently trying to set up the code for detonation when they use them later.

"Retsu! What are you trying to do with C4s explosives?!" Sinon questioned. The chubby man glanced and her before he smirked in triumph. "Very well. Since you're going to die, I might as well tell you" Retsu said. "In a week from now, the police shall hold a conference in Amanohara City. From there, I planned to plant the bombs at the conference venue and eliminate those cops all at once. After that, I'll use the remaining to destroy the city's lifeline and wreak havoc!" he explained before laughing wickedly.

Sinon becomes horrified from this revelation. To be specific, since she wanted to be a police officer, hearing that these explosives were meant to eliminate police forces offended her a bit. To add oil to the fire, destroying city's lifeline will not only caused trouble for the citizens but also take away lives of the innocents.

"My friends won't allow that!" she barked, which surprises the man called Snake, who grin in amusement. "Oh, you plan to tell your friends? Even though you're going to die here?" Retsu asked entertainingly. "Even if I can't tell them, they'll caught up to your plan soon. Just you wait" said Sinon in confidence. There was a short silence, which was then broken when Snake chuckled amusingly for a bit.

"Normally I let my underlings kills the prey. But rejoice! I shall kill you myself" declared Retsu as he takes out a gun from his pocket and aimed at him. Sinon becomes horrified when she saw a gun pointing at her. It cannot be helped since she had Hoplophobia, or fear of firearms and in particular, guns. Even though playing GGO and support from her friends did lessen her fear, it was not completely erased. After all, fear is not something that can be eliminated. You can only accept that it is your weakness as you move forward while facing your fear. At times like this, the beauty sniper hoped that Kirito was there to protect her.

 _"Kirito… Save me…"_ Sinon thought in her mind, hoping for the black swordsman to save him. "Goodbye…" declared Retsu before he unleashed a shot towards the beauty sniper. Time slows down from Sinon's point of view after the bullet was released from its barrel. All hopes seem lost and the beauty sniper was petrified from the fact that she will die there.

Suddenly, a small figure swiftly appeared out of nowhere and deflect the bullet away from Sinon, thus saving her. The beauty sniper herself and Retsu was surprised about what is going on until the the said figure landed on the floor. It was none other than the dinosaur gadget that can transformed into Gaia Memory, which was called Fang Memory or Fang for short. It is Kamen Rider W's seventh memory. Fang itself roared after landing on the ground from saving the beauty sniper. "Fang!" gasped Sinon.

Afterwards, everyone, including the bodyguards heard footsteps approaching from the forest, which got their attention. Then, the person making those footsteps came into light and Sinon was confounded when she saw who that person was. It was none other than Oozora Hiro. Though, the bluenette seems unable to stand properly while the skin below his eyes are swollen, mainly because of the poison.

(Play LupinRanger VS PatRanger OST: _It's Showdown_ PatRanger part)

 **(A/N: If you want to know what sound I'm referring to, try search for zekozimo, enter the blog, go to Music (Not Tokusatsu Music) tab and find Kaitou Sentai LupinRanger VS Keisatsu Sentai PatRanger VS Sound Collection 2,3,4 Final Strike post with this date, Wednesday, February 20, 2019. Go to the download link and get the file (Password for zip: zekozimo). After you finished download and extract it, go to folder Disc 2 and track 18, where the title is the italic and underlined, which I highlighted in this chapter. When listening go straight to 0:49 and it ends at 2:20. That's the soundtrack I'm referring to and I like when used in battle for Lupin VS Pat. I used sound cutter to just have that part only instead of listening to the whole thing because the beginning one is for LupinRanger while after 2:20 is for Good Feeling Kaiser VSX, both teams as a whole. Honestly, I could just use Detective Conan's Kimi Ga Ireba as an insert, but I prefer this soundtrack because its more appropriate with this context)**

"I won't let you guys do as you please!" Hiro exclaimed. The beauty sniper could not believe what she sees herself, but it really is him. "Hiro!" gasped Sinon. Retsu noticed what is going on and was irritated that his victim from being poisoned arrived at his place while still alive. "You're still alive?! You guys! Get him!" he ordered. His bodyguards, A and B takes out their guns and fired at Hiro continuously. However, the bluenette charged towards the said men in suits, while avoiding those bullets writhingly.

Then, as he roared, Hiro approached of the bodyguards, A to be specific, punching his face before smacking his stomach. Afterwards, bodyguard B try to land a hit but the bluenette avoided the attack before giving a chop on the neck followed by elbowing the former's back, making him fell unconscious.

Soon, Hiro rushed to where Retsu was, charging at him writhingly. Snake panicked and pointed the gun at the bluenette. "Stop, you monster!" Retsu barked and started shooting at Hiro.

The bluenette however dodged before rushing at full speed and gave a headbutt on Snake's stomach, forcing him to drop his gun. Then, Hiro gets up and use a spinning back heel kick, hitting Retsu on his head and sent the chubby guy flying.

Sinon was completely amazed and speechless about what just happened. Even though Hiro was poisoned, to the point that it even took all his strength just to stand, he was able to pull off all that stunts, possibly through sheer will. "Hiro…How did you?" asked Sinon. "That is…" Hiro started to explain what is going on.

 _(Flashback)_

After Cobra left with taking away Sinon, Hiro was writhing in pain on the ground from the poison. "Not yet… I can't die here…" the bluenette muttered to himself. Slowly, with all his might, the bluenette rise and stood. Though, it is hard for him to stand properly because his body had gone numb from all the poison. Regardless, through sheer will, the bluenette make his move as he climbs up to where he last saw Sinon. While on his slow journey, he took out Stag Phone before inserting its Pseudo Memory. **"Stag"**

"Stag Phone. Get Kirito and Silica-chan" Hiro ordered, which the Memory Gadget seems to understand and flew away. The bluenette continued his journey to find the beauty sniper that was captured. "Spider Shock is with Sinon-san… just how can I find her?" the bluenette muttered as he moved, curious how she can find Sinon when he did not have any Memory Gadget left with him.

Then, he heard a familiar dinosaur roar which came from his right and look at it. It was Fang Memory. "Fang?" muttered Hiro. Then an idea came to the bluenette's mind and he looked at Fang determinedly. "That's right… Fang. Find Sinon-san!" ordered Hiro. Fang Memory roared before it left to find the beauty sniper. As for the bluenette, he started to follow where the dinosaur Gadget went to.

 _(Flashback Ends)_

As Hiro explained what is going on, he had Fang Memory bite some of the rope as he untied Sinon. Then, after managing to free the beauty sniper, the bluenette started to collapse but Sinon grabbed him, preventing him from falling. "Why? Why go this far to help me?" she asked worriedly. Even the beauty sniper had to admit she cannot understand why the bluenette did all this even though he could die.

"Why? When it comes to helping people, is a reason really needed?" Hiro asked back. "Hiro…" muttered Sinon. "Well, I would be lying if I admit there is no reason for why I help you now" Hiro told her. "Because I like you, wouldn't that be enough?" he said.

The beauty sniper was surprised from hearing this. Hiro helped her because he likes her. It just does not make sense considering that she rejected his confession earlier. "Like? But I…" Sinon tried to reason but the bluenette just pat on her left shoulder.

"Indeed, you didn't think of me as your love interest. But, you know. Men can be more obstinate than what you think. Even if they cannot be the one to make the girl they like happy, they wanted to protect their happiness even if it means giving up their lives. I'm one of those type. Even if I don't have any place in your heart in the end, I want to protect you until you return to your timeline so that you can become a full-fledged police officer. I could at least do that much. Yet again, I must admit, this is totally stupid but… when it comes to helping someone earnestly, I can't be discriminating whether those people are bad, or if they don't like me. That's just how I am" Hiro professed.

Sinon was puzzled to hear the bluenette's reason to help her. After seeing and hearing his earnest actions and responses, she could not help but feel grateful and cannot deny how good Hiro was. To be specific, she acknowledged that he was a strong person. On top of that, he even knew that she dreamt to be a police officer, possibly through his lookup on Planetary Bookshelves. "Hiro… You…" she muttered.

"Oh, Happy Birthday… Sinon-san" Hiro said, which the statement surprises her even further. Then, she remembered that today was 21st August. Even though her actual birthday on year 2026 have not arrived yet, it is still a fact that date was also her birthdate. Coincidentally, it was today on year 2060. "I haven't decided what to give you as a present yet, but I promise I'll give you one" he said. "Hiro…" Sinon muttered unfeignedly.

Then, the duo noticed Retsu getting up from being beaten. It seems he was totally infuriated from what the bluenette did by kicking his face. "I won't forgive you!" Retsu declared, taking out the Cobra Memory. **"Cobra"** The chubby man inserted the memory onto his forehead, transforming him into the snake Dopant. Hiro and Sinon grunted when they saw this.

"Sinon! Hiro!" a familiar male voice cried, which got the duo's attention when they heard it suddenly. Then, they saw Silica and Kirito arrived and approaching. The voice from earlier belongs to the black swordsman. "What's going on?!" asked Silica worriedly. "Explanations later!" Hiro said before looking at the black swordsman. "Kirito, time to transform into Fang Joker! Hurry!" ordered Hiro. "All right" Kirito agreed, taking out the Double Driver and equipped it to his waist, which becomes a belt. Another Double Driver also appeared on Hiro's waist.

The bluenette then gets off from the beauty sniper and step forward, along with Kirito. Fang Memory then jumped to Hiro, which he welcomes it with his right palm while the black swordsman took out the Joker Memory. The bluenette then compressed Fang, transforming it into a Memory which he held on his left hand later.

(Play song: WBX [Double Boiled Extreme] by Kamiki Aya w TAKUYA)

 **"Joker" "Fang"** "Henshin!" Hiro and Kirito yelled while pointing their memories to right and left respectively. Kirito inserted his memory, which then transferred digitally Hiro's left side on Double Driver. The black swordsman collapsed, which Silica managed to grab him from falling. Afterwards, Hiro pressed the Joker Memory, inserted Fang Memory before spreading the driver apart and placed the head on the buckle. **"Fang Joker"**

Hiro's body transformed into W, with circuit lines appearing on his face as it happens. Though, after transforming, the black swordsman could feel something is off with the bluenette. He felt the numbness and pain of venom.

"Partner, could it be you are poisoned?" asked Kirito worriedly, which Fang Joker's left eye blinked when he spoke. "Sorry for not saying anything but… please go along with me for one minute. If we do Memory Break on this guy, the poison in my body will disappear" Hiro apologised and requested. "Okay" Kirito agreed. "Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito proclaimed simultaneously as Fang Joker pointed his right hand towards Cobra Dopant.

Afterwards, Fang Joker and Cobra charged towards each other. The snake Dopant slithered to the white-black Kamen Rider, dealing a straight down slash. Fang Joker blocked the attack with his left arm before countering with a right kick, pushing Cobra away. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider tapped on Fang's horn twice. **"Shoulder Fang"**

A blade came out on Fang Joker's right shoulder, which he pulled it out to be used as a weapon. Cobra then started to shoot out jaws from his mouth. The white-black Kamen Rider parried all those attacks while plunging towards the snake Dopant. Upon approaching, Fang Joker make an uppercut, followed by a straight down before a horizontal strike, which pushes Cobra away. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider sent the blade towards the snake Dopant and manipulate it psychically, making four hits, each coming from random directions before returning to the right shoulder of its owner and vanished.

Kirito was totally amazed with what the bluenette did, especially when he managed to pull it off in his current condition. "Whoa! What's kind of attack that was just now? It's totally violating science laws" he said in awe. "Who knows? Maybe a sword skill for Fang, I guess?" Hiro suggested. "But, it's not glowing when you activate it" argued Kirito, signifying that sword skills. "We're not inside a game, you know" Hiro remarked, which Kirito realised that the bluenette was right. "Well, whatever. Let's finish this guy" said Kirito. "Yes" Hiro agreed. The white-black Kamen Rider then tapped on Fang's horn thrice. **"Fang. Maximum Drive"** a blade appeared on Fang Joker's right ankle. The snake Dopant noticed this as he gets up. "Darn you!" he barked and unleashed multiple jaws attack from his mouth towards the white-black Kamen Rider.

As this happens, Fang Joker rushed towards Cobra who unleashes the attack. The attack from the snake Dopant does have effect on the white-black Kamen Rider himself but the bluenette's continued charged through like it does not affect him through sheer will. "Fang Strizer!" Hiro and Kirito yelled as they performed a jumping roundhouse kick on Cobra's face. The attack hit the Dopant and triggers an explosion. Upon its diminishment, Aramaki Retsu came out and fell to the ground with a swollen mark around his eyes before losing consciousness. Since Cobra Memory was shattered, the poison that was injected into Hiro's body vanished and it was showed when Fang Joker managed to stand properly before raising his fist of victory. "They did it!" cheered Sinon and Silica when they saw the victory of their ally.

Soon, the polices arrived to arrest Retsu and his two subordinates. The traded C4s were confiscated as well. The police forces applauded the quartet for informing this and managed to avoid the worst-case scenario.

Though, the bluenette and his friends stated that the mysterious dealer got away, which to their surprise learnt that the police had already captured him. The quartet were confused. The dealer was already dealt with? Since when? Regardless they decide not to think much about it and left to pack their stuffs home.

* * *

An hour later…

Kirito and his friends took the bus to return to Amanohara City. The quarter sat at the most back seats, which happened to be empty and only they are occupying it. From the right, the order of who sat where was from Silica, Sinon, Kirito and finally Hiro. At that time, the bluenette was leaning his head on the window while already sleeping due to exhaustion.

"Still, I never thought the dangerous trade was on plastic explosives" Silica admitted. "Yeah… Looks like we made the right choice by accepting that request" Kirito agreed. "Geez, which part of it was right? Hiro and I fell into the river because of this request" Sinon complained, which surprises the twin tail girl and black swordsman. "Eh? You two fell into the river?!" gasped Silica. "Then, what happened?" asked Kirito. The beauty sniper then remembered that Hiro told her she experienced cardiac arrest and literally kissed her through CPR. "No. Nothing…" Sinon answered. The black swordsman somehow felt she was not telling the whole truth. "Oh, really? I bet you're hiding something" Kirito sneered, which made the beauty sniper annoyed. "I said nothing!" scolded Sinon, which surprises the black swordsman and scared him. It is best if he does not pester the beauty sniper further. "Okay… I won't ask anything else" Kirito replied nervously.

"In any case…" said Silica as she glanced to where the sleeping bluenette was, which Kirito and Sinon followed her gaze. "Hiro-san is so reckless… he pulls off those stunts even though he was poisoned. I'm really scared when I thought about it" she explained. "Yeah. Me too. In that situation, it's not even possible to stand but… I guess that's Hiro for you. Overcome obstacles with sheer guts" Kirito concluded.

As for the beauty sniper, she stared at the sleeping bluenette with sorrow emotions. _"I… thought of Kirito even though Hiro was the one who came to save me in the end. He likes me, but I didn't accept his feelings. Even so, he come to save me without any discrimination. I hate to admit it, but I see him in a new light. He is someone that I really admired for me to become stronger. Is there any way I can thank him?"_ Sinon pondered to herself. Then something came to her mind, which she decided to speak.

"Hey, Kirito. Can we switch place?" requested Sinon. The black swordsman was surprised from this but then does not mind about it. "Eh? It's fine…" Kirito said as he stood and let Sinon sat at his place before he sat to her previous seat. Then, the beauty sniper placed her hands at Hiro's head and gently pulled him to lie on her lap. Afterwards, she gently caressed the bluenette's hair. _"Thank you… Hiro"_ Sinon thanked in her mind as she smiled. Though, unbeknown to her, Hiro subconsciously smiled when she does this to him.

The black swordsman and the twin tail girl were surprised when they saw the beauty sniper's method of affection on Hiro. Though, Kirito himself could not help but want to tease Sinon. " _Ah le le_ … What do you think you're doing, Sinon?" he pestered. The beauty sniper was flustered, with her face becoming redden as tomato. " _Ah le le_ , you're blushing, Sinon-san!" Silica pointed out, which leave the mentioned person uneasy.

"Don't laugh! And what's with that _Ah le le_?" Sinon questioned with annoyance. "Nothing…" said Kirito. "But, what are you putting Hiro-san's head on your lap for? Could it be you really like Hiro-san?" asked Silica before she guessed teasingly. "It's not like that!" Sinon retorted with a pout. Though it still does not help her with the fact that she is blushing. "I… just thought it's better for him to sleep on something soft. If he sleeps like that, he'll hurt his neck. Plus, I wanted to thank him for saving me. That's all" the beauty sniper explained before sulking, which Kirito and Silica chuckled a bit from seeing this.

"Come to think of it, today's your birthday, right?" guessed Silica. "Yes… that's right…" Sinon confirmed. "Sorry… I totally forgot about it" Silica apologised. "It's fine… I wasn't even paying attention to the date myself" Sinon said with assurance. "Then, how about we celebrate it today?" suggested Silica.

"But, Ayumu still has exams, right? I feel bad about doing it during her busy time" Sinon pointed out, which the twin tail girl then realised this. "You're right… Ayumu-chan's still on her exam" stated Silica.

"Then, how about this? Ayumu's birthday is at the end of this month. At that time, she's already finished her exams, so I think we can celebrate your birthday together with Ayumu" suggested Kirito, which surprises the girls from this revelation. "Eh? Ayumu-chan's birthday is at the end of this month?" echoed Silica. "Yeah. On 31st August" confirmed Kirito. "How do you know about that?" asked Sinon curiously.

"This morning, Hiro told me. If we're planning to celebrate your birthday, let's do it on Ayumu's birthday" explained Kirito. "I see…" Silica replied. "Then, what do you think? Do you think it is okay for us to celebrate your birthday along with Hiro's sister?" asked Kirito.

"It's fine… I don't have any problems with it. Plus, we can prepare for Ayumu's birthday party and everyone can come. It's better than trying to do it in a rush" concurred Sinon with justifications. "Then, it's decided. We'll celebrate Sinon-san's birthday with Ayumu-chan's birthday together" concluded Silica. "Yeah…" Kirito agreed. As for the beauty sniper, she turned to Hiro and gaze at him with a gentle smile. _"Hiro… I look forward to what present you want to give me…"_ Sinon pondered in her mind while stroking the bluenette's hair as he slept on her lap.

* * *

 **Well, this came out random anyway, I mean the things apart from the whole birthday thing. I'm a bit outdated in games related info so the C4 bombs idea came when I played Counter Strike recently. Sorry for those who are expecting Begins Night, but I feel like I absolutely need this as part of the story. And yes, Kirito and Silica are pretty much minor in this one so sorry about that too.**

 **By the way, about Shroud for this story, I probably won't change that nickname for Shane's wife. I like it as it is and it's hard to find a good handle to replace that in English or any other languages.**

 **Thanks for pointing out Sinon fan. Perhaps a correction for your review was, Kirito's birthday was in October, not December because Chalice mentioned that Kirito and Asuna were Libras. Libras are from 23rd September to 22nd October. Yes, I had to admit one thing, even my parents are from wind astrology, Gemini and Libra. Yes, it's quite a weird coincidence when I think about it but when you're seeking the partner you wanted to be with, you never really think about choosing them based on their birthdays and it's not common to do that.**

 **Sinon is my favourite female character of SAO, more than Asuna and the rest. If I were Kirito myself right now and met Sinon earlier, I would be more than happy to have her as my girlfriend. Though, it's hard to believe that her age is very close to Suguha. I mean, she looks like having the same age as Kirito or the same age as Asuna and Lisbeth. Not to mention, out of all the female characters in SAO, she is the most idealistic girlfriend for guys to have, at least that's where my personal opinion lies on. By the way, this will probably the only special chapter I planned to do when it comes to birthdays of SAO Characters. It's not like I don't want to do with the others but its going to drag the whole story longer than it supposed to be. And the reason this was an exception was because Sinon's my favourite female characters of SAO.**

 **The next one, my version of Begins Night will take place around Ayumu's birthday and it is a part of the overall plot. Comparing to the original Kamen Rider W, it takes place during Christmas Eve. I probably going to put a little moment when Hiro hands in a present for Sinon personally. Whatever present it is, it is up to your imaginations though I can't guarantee it is something special.**

 **FYI, I was fixated on the dates because I want to keep track how long they are at Hiro's timeline and I honestly didn't realised that Sinon's birthday is approaching in that year until someone pointed out for me. IT IS PURE COINCIDENCE the date was corresponding to her birthday month. A bit of spoiler about the duration. They will not be staying more than 2 years and I can confirm that. Common sense thinking, I don't want to spend more than a year in another world before coming back to my proper world. In this context, maybe timeline is more appropriate. In addition, Hiro got a responsibility to bring Kirito and his friends back to where they came from so any further delay would not mean anything good.**

 **Oh yes. I do have to address this as well. Some of the reviewers are eager about what is Kirito's personal connection (along with his friends) with this story, so personal wise NONE. Neither he nor his friends do have anything personal against the Gaia Memories Organisation, only Hiro does. However, Kirito and his friends are stuck in a different timeline which does not have a way to go back but they want to return. So, I could say that was the aim why they are in Hiro's timeline.**

 **Honestly, I do want to make Kirito in particular have one and give focus to him even if it is not as much as Hiro does. However, I currently don't have the appropriate idea and how to connect it because the main plot of this whole story, which I anticipated was mostly dependent on Hiro. Though, I do have something in mind, which I don't know if I want to implement it here or as a new story, as in a sequel. (Not a sequel as a full series anime but probably just more based on a movie). So, the point is, I might want to ask suggestion from you readers what do you think the other connection against the Gaia Memories Organisation, which is appropriate for Kirito to be as important as Hiro, apart from the role of being the main body of W's nine forms and the mind of Fang Joker. It does not have to be directly to the organisation. Just name anything. Even the most nonsensible idea can be good if you know how to apply them properly. Although, I will keep in mind about the connection of Kirito with Junnosuke.**

 **Also, to begin with, even Kirito does not have any connection to SAO until he learns that the game had its logout disabled and the fact it uses a furnace helmet and activates when either one of the two conditions are involved. Someone outside forcibly tries to remove the helmet or your character dies in the game. Though, the only thing that bothers me is that why can't the arcs after SAO is not independent on things from SAO.**

 **What I want to imply is that in Fairy Dance, Kirito entered a game created by Sugou, who was jealous of Kayaba Akihiko, the designer for SAO. And it also uses the same system used by SAO as a base. Extra Edition is mostly recapping the things happened in SAO. For the Death Gun part in GGO, Kirito had to deal with some bad guy who also played SAO in a Player-Killing Guild.**

 **While the arc with Konno Yuuki looks pretty much independent from other concepts, she uses a hardware designed by Kayaba Akihiko, who also designed SAO. Ordinal Scale movie had its designer utilise monsters from SAO to collect memory fragments from surviving SAO players to revive his death daughter that met her ends from that same death game.**

 **Then the Alicization part is where Kirito also deal with a villain who also played SAO too. See what I mean? While the main plot of each arc (involving Kirito particularly) can be independent, SAO is still part of its origin. By that, I mean the people involved in there more than what system each online world implemented. Not that its wrong for the author because he can do as he please. He was the one who wrote Sword Art Online.**

 **But from my point of view, the story becomes too rigid to proceed independently out of anything completely new and in a way, it MUST be related to that same infamous Sword Art Online game in that universe. Of course, I know you need to explain things logically, which make sense but using the same title DOES NOT MEAN you have to include back the people involved from that same game as a villain or whatever goal to achieve. Just the utilisation of those games using sword skills is plenty enough while you can just keep the arcs independent from one another. That's what I thought personally. I could also say the same about Kingdom Hearts from Chi to 3. But for me I could really see that each game being a part of the whole long-winded story for the conflict to end and then start anew. But for SAO, I could not see that understanding being similar or at least as close as Kingdom Hearts. In any case, I'm not going to crack my head thinking about the logic of new arcs getting people involved from SAO and the goal to achieve by being related by that same game. Then I learn he needs to have a solid ending for the novel of overall series, not a cliff hanger story. Oh well, whatever works for him.**

 **For the anonymous guest, please be careful with your words when criticising people. The reason I put the girls was that it would be totally boring if there are only men. You know what they say? "All work and no play make Jack a dull boy". Also, I want Hiro being the oldest in the group (from his current age in his timeline), not Agil and Klein, who already surpassed him by their current age on year 2026, which is the main reason I did not include them. Period.**

 **As for the girls being involved in the battle as fighters, I can't really answer that now because I haven't thought out how would they fit in. While it's not impossible, it may not be feasible _for most of the time_. That's the idea of how I would say it. Don't get me wrong, I want everyone involved to have a purpose, whether major or minor. It's just a matter of time so be patient as I thought it out carefully. For me, minor or major doesn't really matter because if even one does not fulfil the given role, everyone else will suffer the same consequences. That's what I learn when doing my group project, which I had trouble with because of its high commitment along with me myself unable to catch up and perform within the short time frame of the semester. That ended up me repeating that same subject again because everyone else in my group had to cover up for the role that I didn't fulfilled. **

**Trust me, I am in still my final year of undergraduate due to repeating the same subject. However, because of _too much free time_ in the past semesters for being a project-based semester, it completely distracted me from doing what is important and ended up being stressed of wasting time. Of course, if you are doing the project itself daily with improvements, it's not a problem. Honestly, I do need a lot of support from people, from my parents and lecturers to make sure I am on track. Of course, I do try to help and improve myself as well. **

**An advice for life, when you got piled into too much stress, you can't enjoy doing whatever you like properly, not even me writing this story. I can watch SAO, or any stories again and again forever but not enjoy it or comes up with an idea to write fan fiction stories. In the end, all those ideas become so crappy that you give up on anything. FYI, I've been rewriting the crossover for SAO at least 3 times before this one, but the past ones became totally not feasible to continue further. Now that I'm reaching this far (writing as much up to 10,000 words per chapter), I don't want to suddenly quit from doing what I wanted to do. That is all. By the way, sorry for the long bolding comments, since most of my reviewers are guest, I can't reply to each and every one of you individually and directly in private. And I never thought that at least 1500 bolded words are nothing related to stories but my comments on things. Seriously, I never thought I could actually write up to even 1000 words or nagged that much before. But I guess when you try to do something passionately as possible or an explained your opinion in your own words, you did not even realise that you just broke that limiting mindset you used to have. In any case, Please Rate and Review.**


	9. Begins Night

**21** **st** **July 2058, Wednesday**

It was a heavy rainy night in Amanohara City and most people usually remained indoors during this weather. At a certain part of the city, there was a small detective agency that handles various cases polices usually do not help with. Its name was Asaka Detective Agency.

Since it was already and raining, there is no customer coming it at this time around. However, there is someone living in that agency as a live-in. It is a young man with the name Oozora Hiro. He was an ex-member of a terrorist organisation called World Reformer and on probation under supervision of the agency's owner, Asaka Fuuto. Originally, Hiro was brainwashed to be a member but because the crimes he committed was too heavy, it does not favour him to live as a free man and get away scot-free. Hence, it was decided by law that he shall be put under one-year probation in Amanohara City .

Currently, the said bluenette was playing around with wearing one of his mentor's fedoras, a white one with black stripe and some small decoration of to be specific, _after_ he had done all the necessary responsibility needs to be committed as an inmate in probation like writing daily activity records and then get them approved by Fuuto. Hiro was looking at the mirror, thinking to himself how his image of wearing a fedora fits him.

Nevertheless, the bluenette was too distracted thinking to himself that he did not noticed Fuuto, wearing a grey fedora, raincoat of the same colour and black pants and shoes, had returned to the office until his probation supervisor suddenly take away the fedora off his head, which surprises him.

"Ah! Boss!" gasped Hiro as he turned and saw his supervisor. "Hey, hey. What do you think, touching someone's property without permission?" Fuuto questioned, walking away from the bluenette and stopped for a while. "I deeply apologised. I've become intrigued to wear one after seeing you wear them all the time and got a bit carried away. It looks cool and all, seeing a private detective wearing this" explained Hiro with an apology. "I thought that I want to wear one someday if I were to become a private detective"

"You're a half-boiled man. This thing is far too early for you" said Fuuto as he lobbed the white fedora towards his work desk and it got hanged perfectly on one of the hooks. "Geez… I just thought I wanted to imitate you a bit… There's nothing wrong about it. You don't have to be strict about this kind of trivial thing" Hiro replied as he walked pass his supervisor and towards the work desk, wanting to try the same fedora once more.

"That's not good" said Fuuto, which made the bluenette halted and looked at the former. "Hiding the coldness and kindness in a man's eyes is this guy's job" he explained while taking off the fedora off his head and caress it for a bit before looking at Hiro. "You have neither of them, right?" the supervisor said before he lobbed the fedora towards the bluenette, who ducked from it.

Hiro turned around and saw the fedora Fuuto threw landed to hang next onto the white one. The bluenette then realised his supervisor was aiming at the hook from the start and he was amazed it actually got there when someone was in the way.

"Don't even think of wearing them until I acknowledge you. If you don't like it, then get out" said Fuuto as he undresses his raincoat while walking towards his work table, revealing he was wearing a black suit underneath. The said supervisor then hangs it by the green ladder next to his work table before sitting down.

The bluenette sighed upon hearing this. He already knew his supervisor for at least three months, yet it is very hard for him to approach Fuuto as a person. "All right… I understand…" sighed Hiro as he walked towards the bed that is located a few metres to the right from his supervisor's work table. Then the bluenette suddenly halted his steps when he remembered something. "Boss… I would like to ask you some-" said Hiro before he turned to where his boss.

Though, the bluenette became horrified when he turned around. His supervisor, Fuuto was nowhere to be seen. On top of that, the surrounding suddenly become and feel gloomy, which made Hiro glanced around worriedly. Then, instantly, the area around him shattered like a broken glass and became pitch-black. The next thing Hiro knew a dark apparition with malicious red eyes appeared behind him. The bluenette turned his head and became horrified as the said apparition enlarges and tried to engulf him before he screamed from fear.

* * *

 **29** **th** **August 2060, Sunday**

Everything went blank and completely pitched black after Hiro was gobbled up by the spectre. It seems like it is the end of the world but then a female voice echoed to him. "Hey… Hiro… Wake up…"

Upon hearing that, the first thing Hiro does was trying to open his eye lids, which in fact made him began to see a glimpse of light as he attempted. Slowly, in a few seconds, the lights became wider and started to have variation in colours until he was able to see the boundaries and become clearer as his sights sharpened.

The next thing he saw was Lisbeth and Asuna, who both stared at him worriedly. "Hiro-kun, are you okay?" asked Asuna with concern. "Lis-san, Asuna-san…" Hiro muttered before he then glanced around him. He noticed that he was inside a big room that has very few windows. On top of that, everything, including the furniture were all arranged to the side, leaving a big space in the middle. There are also decorating items like cut-outs, balloons and banner around the room while the tables are covered with pink clothes. Apart from the arrangement, Hiro also saw Kirito and his friends along with the four informants, Rhythm, Uncle Magic, Day and Night helping to decorate the room. It seems like they are preparing for a party to come.

"Where am I? And what is everyone doing?" asked Hiro. "Huh?" The said question surprises everyone and made them puzzled while muttering this and looking at each other before turning to the bluenette. "Hey. Hey. Are you still half-asleep?" asked Lisbeth sceptically. "This is Stream Dormitory" she stated.

"As for what we are doing, it was you who asked us to do this" reminded Day. "Ayumu-chan's birthday is approaching, and you wanted to throw a surprise party for her" Night stated. "And we're celebrating Sinonon's birthday together too" Asuna added. "I see... I guess I completely forgot about that" replied Hiro.

"At first, you want to do it at the office, but we won't be able to hide from Ayumu and make it a surprise if we do it there" Lisbeth added. "Don't worry. We properly got the permission from the landlord" said Asuna assuredly before there is a short silence.

The bluenette then noticed the beauty sniper is staring at him worriedly. "More importantly, are you okay, Hiro? You've been groaning in your sleep" asked Sinon worriedly. "Oh... I guess I had a nightmare just now..." said Hiro.

"Geez... you've been working too hard and sleep late recently. Don't push yourself when you're too tired" Rhythm reminded. "That's right. They say that exhaustion makes you vulnerable to have nightmares in your sleep" Uncle Magic pointed out.

Then Silica approaches Hiro with a glass of water in her hand. "Here, Hiro-san" she said, giving the said drink to the bluenette, who accepted it with his right hand. "Thank you, Silica-chan" thanked Hiro before he drank the given water in a glass.

"How do you feel?" asked Asuna. "Don't worry. I feel a bit better" answered Hiro. As for Kirito, he just silently stared at the bluenette from where he was. Then the black swordsman heard a phone's ringing, which he noticed that it was from the Hiro's Stag Phone as the latter picked up his phone to answer. "Ayumu...?" muttered Hiro in confusion when he saw who the caller was before answering the call.

"Hello?" he greeted after placing the phone to his left ear. "This is bad, Onii-chan!" Ayumu yelled suddenly, which surprises her big brother and forced him to pull away the phone from his ear subconsciously. The bluenette sighed after hearing this, especially when he knew how noisy his little sister can be and he himself just awake from a nightmare does not help the situation either. He then placed back the phone to his ear. "Hey, don't yell suddenly when you're contacting someone without greeting them properly" Hiro nagged. "Anyway, what is it?" he asked.

"Where are you guys?! We got a request, but the client refuse to believe that I am the Chief of this agency. Anyway, hurry up and come to the agency, Onii-chan. Immediately" Ayumu explained and commanded before she turned off the call.

"Who was that?" Lisbeth asked as the bluenette kept his phone. "It's Ayumu. There's a request for a detective" said Hiro. "Then, we should help" Asuna volunteered. "No. I'll handle this. Everyone else continue preparing for the party. If I need help, I'll contact you guys immediately" Hiro ordered before he gets up from the chair. "Then, I'm going" said the bluenette before he left through the door.

* * *

10 minutes later...

Hiro had arrived at the agency, where Ayumu was waiting for him with a beautiful woman as a client. That client had long brown hair and yellow hazel eyes. She wore a black long-sleeved dress with a skirt and purple jacket with pattern in the form of pores. The client wore black cap, grey high heels shoes and her name was Yano Fumiko. The bluenette sense some familiarity upon seeing the said woman, believing that he saw her somewhere before.

Upon seeing Hiro entered the office, Ayumu rushes to him in a worried look. "Onii-chan. You come! I don't know what to do!" she cried whiningly. "Calm down, Ayumu" Hiro said, giving an assuring pat on her shoulders, which made his little sister settled down with her worry. Then, the bluenette saw the female client that was waiting at the couch while standing. "Please to meet you, I'm the detective of this agency, Oozora Hiro" Hiro introduced himself.

"Hello... I heard about this agency and thought for sure this place was handled by an adult, but I was surprised to learn that it was managed by a little girl who claimed herself as the chief" explained Fumiko. "I am not a little girl and I am the Chief of this agency!" Ayumu protested and defended herself, which made the bluenette chuckled a little. "Well… To begin with, this agency was owned by her late father while I am her father's disciple. Afterwards, my family adopted her and that's how the two of us became siblings. In any case, I understand your feelings. It's only natural for you to worry if the Chief (Shochou) of this detective agency is a middle schooler" explained Hiro with a few nods and derogatory remarks. "Oh, so that's what it is…" said Fumiko understandably.

However, unknown to Hiro, his little sister was a bit offended with what he said, and she readied a green slipper in her hand before slapping her brother's head with it. The written text was 'Beautiful Middle Schooler'. "Who are you calling…! The beautiful (Bishoujou)… middle schooler?!" Ayumu questioned angrily at her big brother while mispronounce the term from mishearing with a grin in between the scolding.

"I didn't say that!" Hiro barked at his little sister before realising that there is a client in front of them and such behaviour is humiliating to be shown. The bluenette immediately shrugged it off with a fake cough before looking back at Fumiko with a normal proper look. "More importantly, will you introduce yourself and fill in about what your request is?" he asked.

"My name is Yano Fumiko" Fumiko introduced herself. The bluenette then had some change in expression in his look. The mentioned name felt familiar to him. "Yano Fumiko? Where did I hear that before?" he muttered.

"Ah!" Ayumu suddenly yelled from awestruck as she does know that name. "You're one of the duo singers from the Soleil Jumelle (Sun Twins), Fumiko and Emiko" she pointed out as their client is a singer. "Yes… That's right…" Fumiko confirmed that she was from the said duo singer. "Now that you mentioned it, no wonder you look familiar" Hiro stated. "Then, what's your request?" he asked.

"I want you to find someone" Fumiko requested. "Leave it to us! My Onii-chan is the best specialist you can ask for" Ayumu proclaimed as she pulled her brother's ear towards herself, which cause left him discomfort from this. "That hurts!" Hiro yelped. "It's not a normal person" said Fumiko, which left the Oozora siblings confused when she wanted them to look for someone that is not normal. "It's my sister…" she stated.

Upon hearing this, the Oozora siblings became dumbstruck. This is because around April 2060, Fumiko's twin sister, Emiko was on the way to America on a luxury cruiser called Hera. However, the said ship got caught into a heavy storm and soon sank into the sea. According to the news, it was reported there is not a single survivor from the accident. Most of the locals in Amanohara pretty much know this because Emiko and Fumiko are this city's locals.

"If I am not mistaken, your sister, Yano Emiko passed away in a shipwreck last April…" Hiro stated while trying his best not to offend Fumiko, whose beloved sister had already left this world. "Yes… That's what I thought. But a week ago…" muttered Fumiko as she explained what happened.

* * *

 _(Flashback)_

 **22** **nd** **August 2060**

It was a normal day like others. Yano Fumiko had just come out doing a performance at an event. Since she was popular even after her sister passed away due to herself trying her best on solo, many fans were pestered to meet her, asking for signatures and so on. However, she was guarded by a few guards, who tried their best to prevent the fans from obstructing her.

As Fumiko is waving back to her fans, something caught her attention, which brings her to a standstill. About 500 metres away from her current location, a mysterious light popped up and appeared as a person. That person is a woman with yellow hazel eyes and short, brown hair of sleek long bob with curves and side-swept bang style. She wore black clothing from top to bottom with brown shoes and a white wool coat. This woman is Yano Emiko, Fumiko's older sister.

Upon seeing this figure of her late sister makes Fumiko dumbstruck because it does not make any sense. When one of her fans temporarily obstruct her sight of Emiko, the said figure then vanished when she looks back at the same spot.

Horrified to see her sister's figure vanished, Fumiko immediately make through, out from the crowd and towards the spot she saw Emiko. She looks around after arriving there, but no one is present. Not anyone, not even her late sister, Emiko. There was nothing waiting for her. Although, Fumiko's fans and guards are confused as to what she herself was doing glancing around as if she was seeing unnatural things like apparitions.

 _(Flashback end)_

* * *

As Fumiko explained the whole thing about seeing her late sister, she is sitting at the consultation table with Hiro and Ayumu facing her. The Oozora siblings were speechless upon hearing their client's explanation. From their point of view, they believed that Fumiko is just seeing things and it cannot be helped. Anyone would feel empty and get affected emotionally when they lost someone important to them, regardless if that person died of an accident or old age. Afterwards, the bluenette decides to break the silence. "So, you want us to find a ghost?" he guessed.

"They haven't found my sister's body. I don't want to believe she's dead" claimed Fumiko depressingly. Judging from her tone, she and Emiko sounded really close and the latter's death truly cause her to act desperate. As if she wanted to see her late sister once more.

Upon hearing this, the bluenette suddenly recalled the moment in his past he claimed as Begins Night. He remembered that there were gunshots from a few men in black suits and those bullets hit Asaka Fuuto on his back, causing him to flinch and dropped his slightly tattered white fedora. Hiro was silenced from this as he came to his senses.

"Please find my sister. Please!" Fumiko pleaded before bowing at them. There was a short silence in the atmosphere before the Oozora siblings glanced to each other. After a while, Hiro gave a nod, which Ayumu also returns the gesture in the same way. Then, the bluenette went to the door that leads to the basement and picked up a fedora among the hanged ones. This time, he chose a rather stand-out green fedora tied with white ribbon and then approaches Fumiko. "Leave it to us. This city is like our garden. Don't worry. Just wait" said Hiro assuredly as they accepted the request to find a person.

* * *

Throughout the next two hours, Hiro and Ayumu started asking the locals if they heard anything or see anything about Fumiko's late sister anywhere. Of course, it is not done just by the two of them. Hiro had informed Kirito and the others including the informants to help as they split up in smaller groups.

Uncle Magic and Rhythm works solo while Day and Night works in pair as they ask the related people. As for Kirito and the rest, he himself was with Asuna, followed with Sinon and Silica, and lastly Suguha and Lisbeth, each two work as pairs. Their AI friends, Yui and Strea investigated through the net to learn in detail about the incident involving the late Emiko.

" _Fumiko-san was a regular on the hit charts. After that tragic accident, she bravely worked to create songs by herself. I want to find out the truth behind the ghost she saw. Perhaps it was just a stranger with close resemblance. However, I knew the truth was something that I can never imagine…"_ Hiro thought to himself during one of the moments in his investigation. At that time, he was outside the convenience store while Ayumu asks the worker inside. Then, his little sister came out and called him to hear something interesting that the worker knew about.

After the said two hours, Kirito and his friends regrouped by the park and reported their findings to Hiro. Of course, the bluenette's informants do reported their reports to him as well.

"The dead coming back to life?" echoed Kirito after hearing Hiro's finding as he contacted the bluenette through his Stag Phone and set it to loud speaker mode. At that time, the Oozora siblings are at the pier, with Hiro making the call with his Stag Phone.

"You guys got the same information too?" guessed Asuna. "Yes. Stories of the dead meeting with their families. Those rumours are everywhere" said Hiro in confirmation. As the bluenette spoke, Ayumu is pestering to listen in to the conversation, which he had to drive her away in annoyance a few times because it disturbs him.

"Are you saying that Yano Fumiko's sister also did the same thing?" Lisbeth deduced. "Don't be ridiculous. Yui-chan checked up on the incident. The probability of survival is almost zero. There's no way dead people coming back to life" argued Sinon with a proper justification.

"Strea also comes with the same result" added Kirito. "Come to think of it, even you can find out that yourself, right? Why did you bother asking those two to do lookup for you?" Suguha pointed out.

There was a short silence in the conversation afterwards. Indeed, Hiro having the ability to enter Planetary Bookshelves should be able to figure out things faster than asking Yui and Strea, who were advance AIs that have human emotions and can bypass almost every high-level security, including ones possessed by armies.

"Is something wrong?" asked Silica, noticing there is a short silence and no response from the bluenette. Hiro then realised this. "Oh, sorry. Indeed, I could do that but this time I wanted to find out the truth behind this case hands-on rather than fully relying on Planetary Bookshelves" he explained.

"So, that's why you ask those two" Sinon concluded. "In any case, what's your opinion about this case?" asked Kirito. "Hmm... I can't shake this weird feeling" answered Hiro with uncertainty. "The special instinct of a detective?" guessed Lisbeth with fretted brows. "The rumours mentioned the dead appeared in places of special meaning to the deceased. I'm going to investigate it. If I got anything, I'll inform right away" explained Hiro before ending the call. The bluenette then messaged someone before he and Ayumu left off to somewhere.

As for Asuna and the rest, they felt something was off about Hiro. "Hey, everyone, did you realise something was wrong?" asked Silica. "What?" Suguha questioned. "It's Hiro-san! Ayumu told me. In the last few days, Hiro-san have been sleeping at the office instead of his own home. Plus, a day before he started doing that, she heard him groaning in his sleep. It's like what we saw today" explained Silica. "But, can it be that he just had a bad dream?" guessed Suguha.

"I thought it was like that too, but Hiro-san refused to say anything to Ayumu when she asked him about it. Don't you think that is strange?" argued Silica with a question. "Well, to begin with Nightmares aren't supposed to be told to anyone unless that is the cause of your stress. But, if Hiro-kun is hiding something from us, I guess we can say he was acting suspicious" deduced Asuna.

"Hey, Kirito. Do you know anything?" asked Lisbeth, which everyone had their attentions on the black swordsman. "Even if I do know something, I think you better ask Hiro himself first" Kirito answered, which made the girls raise a brow. "Hey, is it just me or you are hiding things from us too, Kirito-kun?" asked Asuna. "How about you stopped being secretive from us?" Lisbeth suggested. "We're your friends you know"

"I wish I could but... I promised Hiro not to tell you girls anything until he permitted me to. Don't think badly of me. I already warn him that I can't keep up with this charade. But, I can tell everyone only this much for now. Hiro had been hiding facts he knew about Asaka Fuuto from Ayumu. That's all" explained Kirito.

"Hiro's hiding things about Ayumu's father from her? Why is he hiding things from Ayumu? Aren't they siblings? He didn't trust her?" asked Suguha sceptically. "No... it's not like that. He did not have the heart and courage to do so. He is probably like me and everyone here, Hiro-kun got a traumatic past that he rather left behind. After all, it's not easy for you to just tell anyone, especially if you feel you're guilty and responsible for it. Furthermore, he is scared about what we will think of him" explained Sinon. "But isn't that the same as running away from the truth?!" argued Lisbeth. "In any case, he needs a bit more time. Let's give him that" suggested Kirito, which the girls remained silent after hearing this.

* * *

Meanwhile...

Hiro and Ayumu went to visit the churchyard, where Yano Emiko's graves lies. They do bring some flowers as gift and left it at her grave, which also had gifts from other visitors that came before. Of course, the siblings were not alone when they were praying for the late Yano Emiko. They are accompanied by a male priest.

The priest had black hair, a pair of yellow eyes and looks like a foreigner. He wore black robe and a surplice with few gold linings and some related accessories. This priest is in fact a foreigner that was born in Japan, fluent with Japanese language and his name is Adolf Osamu.

"There's no corpse but the family had a grave made" Adolf informed them as they stood. "There's no corpse so there's no way she couldn't come back to life here" whispered Ayumu to her brother. However, it seems that the priest heard her.

"The dead coming back to life..." mentioned Adolf with a grin, which surprises the Oozora sibling. "I've heard that rumour. How terribly unpleasant, you know" he said, turning his back from the siblings. "For humans, death is a solemn and inescapable moments"

"You're right..." Hiro reluctantly agreed. While the fact mentioned by the priest is true, he did not like the idea of hearing some weird occult that can corrupt people's thinking. For the bluenette, it is best if they leave before getting dragged into some nuisances. "Excuse me. We'll be leaving now" Hiro said as he bows slightly with Ayumu in suit before taking their leave.

As the Oozora sibling left, Ayumu cell phone started to ring and she picks it up. Hiro insisted to Ayumu that she will talk a bit further from the graves since it can be considered bad manners. At least they did walk to an acceptable distance where it is now all right for them to answer.

"Hello... Oh. Fumiko-san!" Ayumu greeted and then exclaimed after learning the caller was from their client. She even told her big brother with hand signs and asked him to wait. However, Ayumu's expression suddenly changed and she was surprised. "Eh! You wanted to cancel the request?!" she exclaimed.

* * *

A few minutes later...

Ayumu is rushing by foot on a tantrum to a building that is nearby flowing river in the city with Hiro trying his best to catch up with his little sister. It seems that the sudden cancellation of the request irked her. "Don't be kidding with me! This is too sudden! Asking us for a weird request and suddenly cancel it. I can't accept this. I must talk with Fumiko-san!" yapped Ayumu frustratingly. It takes her big brother intercepting from her front to stop her from acting violently.

"That's why! Calm down!" begged Hiro as he stopped Ayumu with his hands on her shoulders as the latter tried to rush through. He understands how she felt but taking out her anger on the client is not going to solve anything. As the bluenette try to restrain his little sister, he suddenly let go of her after noticing something on the platform above him. Ayumu was surprised about this act and then followed his gaze.

The siblings then saw a familiar looking apparition. It was a female figure of... Yano Emiko, the late sister of Yano Fumiko walking on the platform above them. They knew well it was her because the figure's appearance really matched the physicals of Emiko.

"Found her..." muttered Hiro. As for Ayumu, she was scared by this, thinking a ghost came out. "Is that... a ghost?!" she exclaimed. "More importantly, follow her" ordered Hiro as he and Ayumu started chasing the figure resembling Yano Emiko. As the siblings pursue her, the apparition began transitioning from one place to another in a very unnatural way as she went to a higher platform.

The two continued following the female figure until they reached to an end spot. The location they arrived had a roofed passageway and was surrounded by some buildings that incorporated spheres as part of them. Upon arriving, Emiko's apparition vanished and the surrounding suddenly turned gloomy, which surprises the siblings as they halted their steps.

Soon, both noticed something started to materialise at the sphere like building across them. It was a floating figure of a skeleton with few skulls as the heads inside a ragged dirtied robe. The way the skeleton was dressed make it looks like a death wizard but with many faces or more appropriately, a grim reaper, which came back like a death deity to hunt mankind. This figure also wields a blunt looking scythe with a white doll hanging around it. Despite looking like a Death Deity, this floating figure is in fact a Dopant called Death.

As this grim reaper Dopant appear, it started to laugh creepily, which frightens Ayumu. "My name is Death. I rule the world of the dead. I can fill in the emptiness of losing those whom one loves. In other words, I am the ultimate saviour!" Death introduced and self-proclaimed as a Messiah to mankind in a boastful manner.

"Like I thought, a Dopant got involved with all these nonsense" Hiro concluded. "I'm scared, Onii-chan! We should call Kirito-kun here!" cried Ayumu as she clings onto her brother's arm. "There's no need for him to come. Just contact him to put on the Double Driver and use Joker Memory" Hiro said.

"I'm scared, Onii-chan! We should call Kirito-kun here!" cried Ayumu as she clings onto her brother's arm. "There's no need for him to come. Just contact him to put on the Double Driver and use Joker Memory" Hiro said.

"Are you stupid?!" barked Ayumu. "Isn't Kirito the body and you are the soul?" She questioned. "That's right but on a different formation, the reverse will happen" answered Hiro. "What do you mean?" asked Ayumu, confused by what her brother was saying. "A lot of things happen during your exam days but to save the time for explanation, I guess I'll demonstrate it right away" explained Hiro.

With that being said, the bluenette takes out his Stag Phone to call Kirito and briefly explained that they need to transform into Fang Joker. The black swordsman was still at the same place he was previously, with his girlfriends. After hearing the situation, he puts on the Double Driver on his waist, which transforms into a belt. Another Double Driver then appeared on Hiro's waist. Kirito takes out the Joker Memory while Fang Memory in live mode came to the bluenette out of nowhere, standing on his right shoulder. "A dinosaur?" muttered Ayumu in confusion when she saw Fang standing on Hiro's shoulder.

Regardless, the boys need to transform into W right away. **"Joker"** Kirito presses the button on his Gaia Memory as he held it in his right hand. As for Hiro, he does the usual procedure with Fang Memory, putting the gadget on his right hand, compressed it with his left, smacked its butt to make a Memory appear before pressing it with his right hand and held it on his left hand. **"Fang"**

In a split screen, the Hiro pointed his Memory to the right while Kirito does the opposite. "Henshin!" the boys yelled, and Kirito first started by inserting the Joker Memory to the left slot of his Double Driver. Then, the Memory vanished by travelling digitally to where Hiro was. Soon, the black swordsman began to lose consciousness as his mind travels with Joker Memory. Luckily, Asuna and Leafa catches Kirito's body when that happens.

The Joker Memory appeared on the left slot of Hiro's Double Driver on standby and he pushed it for proper insertion. Afterwards, he puts on Fang Memory on the right slot and use it as a lever to spread the buckle into W shape. The bluenette then rested the handle of Fang Memory onto the driver, which make it look like a dinosaur head with a horn.

 **"Fang Joker"** as the announcement was made, a part of Fang's leg swing down to complete the dinosaur lower mouth. Hiro's body was covered in pieces of armour until he becomes a Kamen Rider W Fang Joker formation. Unlike the usual look of W, it was more beast like overall and the right half was white and some black.

Ayumu was astonished to see what happened. Her big brother just transformed into Kamen Rider W. To be precise, it was her first-time seeing Hiro becoming the body instead of the soul as opposed to what happened before along with Fang Joker formation. When the bluenette transformed, a small hurricane was formed around him, which spreads out and affected the grim reaper Dopant. Death was forced to come onto the ground, which Fang Joker was located at.

"So, you're Kamen Rider?" The grim reaper Dopant guessed before he charged towards the white-black Kamen Rider as the latter did the same. At this time, Ayumu backs off to avoid getting caught in the battle. Death swung his scythe at Fang Joker a few times, who ducked the attacks and counter with a neck chop. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider turned and proceed with a spinning roundhouse kick when the grim reaper Dopant attempt to slash him. Next, Fang Joker strike with a straight left kick, forcing Death to back off a few metres. The grim reaper then charged and swung the scythe onto the white-black Kamen Rider, who blocked the attack from the weapon with his left arm.

 **"Arm Fang"** During this chance, Fang Joker tapped onto the horn of Double Driver once, summoning a blade from the right wrist. Next, with all his might, the white-black Kamen Rider strike Death with an uppercut using the bladed arm, followed with a punch from the left and it happened twice before giving the latter a left kick, forcing him to back off a few metres.

"Oh, nice one!" cheered Ayumu as she watched Fang Joker splendidly taking down the Dopant. Then, the white-black Kamen Rider leaped to attack with a flying cut from the bladed arm. However, his attack missed when the grim reaper's body started to transition into virtual image and soon vanished instantly from sight. This surprise both Fang Joker and Ayumu, who began looking around, wondering where the Dopant went.

While the Oozora siblings are searching for Death's whereabouts, Kirito, whose sight was on Joker's side notices someone approaching from the platform across them. "Hiro. Look over there" the black swordsman said as Fang Joker's left eye blinked during the conversation. The white-black Kamen Rider then followed the gaze and saw a man approaching.

That man seems to be in his 30s or 40s, wearing white suit and a white fedora with black ribbon that is slightly torn at the front. The said person then stopped after walking slowly and then showed his face with a glare, revealing that he had grey eyes and black hair. Based on the face feature, this man is no doubt Asaka Fuuto, the father of Ayumu and Hiro's mentor.

Upon the revelation, Fang Joker froze from fear and shock. Hiro in particular knew well this is not supposed to happen, mainly because he knew Asaka Fuuto was no more. "No... This can't be possible..." he muttered. Then, his little sister approaches the railing, wondering if that really was her father. "Is that... Otou-san (Father)?" Ayumu mumbled. "Boss!" Hiro exclaimed. "Calm down, Hiro. This is impossible" Kirito warned. "That's right... It's impossible..." Hiro muttered as he reluctantly agreed to his partner statement. Even if Asaka Fuuto that he sees was not real, he does not want to think of it that way.

As the bluenette was hesitating to decide, Fuuto takes out a Gaia Memory, which is black in colour and had the S initial with skull shaped. The name of the Gaia Memory was Skull. **"Skull"** the hard-boiled detective activate the Memory by pressing the button on it, which surprises Fang Joker. Then, Fuuto takes off his fedora and a Lost Driver appeared on his waist. "Henshin" he muttered and inserted the memory to the slot and pushed it to the right. **"Skull"**

Afterwards, Fuuto's body began to be covered in armoured, transforming him into a Kamen Rider. The body alone bears resemblance as the standard form as W, except that the torso had more of a rib design. This Kamen Rider had a Skull with a scar on the head and the body was fully black and had shades of silver. There is also a ragged scarf hanging around his neck. Fuuto now become Kamen Rider Skull and as soon as the transformation complete, he wears on the fedora held in his hand on his head to cover the scar.

Hiro, being the body of Fang Joker was petrified when he saw what just happened. Though, without warning, Skull leaped to where the white-black Kamen Rider was, forcing the latter against the wall. Then, the skeletal Kamen Rider punched Fang Joker's stomach and face with his right fist, then followed with another punch on the face from his left hand.

"Boss!" gasped Hiro as he writhed from being unable to fight back his own mentor. Then, Skull attacked with a roundhouse kick, forcing Fang Joker to roll a few metres away on the ground. Afterwards, the skeletal Kamen Rider took out a gun called Skull Magnum, which has the similar design as Trigger Magnum but black in colour and the minor gold colour was replaced with red. He used the said gun to fire at Fang Joker, who avoided it by jumping to the side. However, that does not end there. Skull had another weapon up his sleeve and took it out.

It was a double-edged sword with gold guard, black grip with a red square button on it. The name of this weapon was Gaea Sword. Skull switches the sword to his right hand while the magnum was on his left. Then, the skeletal Kamen Rider approaches the white-black Kamen Rider, gives him a right kick, causing the latter to stand. Afterwards, he proceeds to give a downward right slash, followed with another one from downward left, causing Fang Joker to turn around from the attacks. When the white-black Kamen Rider faces Skull, the latter pointed his magnum at point-blank range near the chest and fired, sending the former rolling a few metres away on the ground.

When the skeletal Kamen Rider attacked, Hiro did not fight back and pleaded the former to stop despite being beaten relentlessly. As for Ayumu, who backed off as much as possible when this battle occurs, was surprised to learn that her father was a Kamen Rider. "Otou-san is a Kamen Rider?! Why...? I didn't hear anything about this!" she said. However, Kirito, realising that his partner was mentally in no condition to fight, decides to take over the task in fighting. **"Shoulder Fang"** Fang Joker tapped on the horn at Double Driver twice, making a blade appear on the right shoulder.

Then, the white-black Kamen Rider picked and detached the blade with his left hand and proceeds to charge at Skull. Fang Joker does a downward left strike with the blade, which the skeletal Kamen Rider blocked it with his sword. As they crossed blades against each other, Hiro realised what just happened and Fang Joker attempted to stop his left-side partner with his right hand holding his left. "What are you doing, Kirito?! Stop!" he cried. "Keep your head cool. This Asaka Fuuto is not real" Kirito reminded as he shoved off his partner's right hand and proceed to strike repeatedly at Skull. However, most of the attempts missed, mainly because Hiro tried to stop Kirito and Skull also blocked some of the attacks.

"He turned into Skull! He's real!" Hiro argued. "There's no way he was real! The Asaka Fuuto that you know was shot down last year! You said that yourself!" Kirito countered while unintentionally blurted out the last two sentence that was not supposed to be said, especially in front of Ayumu. However, to Hiro's dismay, his little sister heard that loud and clear. Kirito then also realises his mistake and halted his movement. "Onii-chan! Is that true?!" cried Ayumu as she called out to Fang Joker, who reluctantly glanced at her. "Ayumu... That..." he muttered but was unable to say the words. As the bluenette hesitated to answer, Skull took the opportunity and puts the Skull Memory from the pommel of Gaea Sword. **"Skull. Maximum Drive"**

Kirito noticed what is happening and tried to make Fang Joker be on guard. However, Hiro's hesitation while mentally overwhelmed that Ayumu started to learn the truth caused the white-black Kamen Rider unable to act despite Kirito's warnings and attempts to take control.

Because of this, it leaves Fang Joker vulnerable. Soon, Skull pressed the button on the hilt, causing his sword to glow in purple and then rushed to where the white-black Kamen Rider was. When Hiro notices the skeletal Kamen Rider approaching, it was already too late for him to act. Skull delivered a 7 hit-combo, which started with a downward left, followed with a downward right, up to down vertical, left to right horizontal, another downward left and right again before finishing Fang Joker with a jab on the chest, sending the latter flying and fall onto the ground located a few metres below the platform.

Upon hitting the ground from the fall, with his face body facing the floor, the white-black Kamen Rider was forced out from the transformation, reverting to Hiro. As this happens, the green fedora that he wore came off. Skull then leaped down to where the bluenette was. Simultaneously, Ayumu was surprised about what happened as she rushed to look where brother was and left speechless.

Skull takes off his fedora as his transformation undone, reverting to Ayumu's father. "Didn't I told you fedoras don't suit guys who are half-boiled, Hiro?" Fuuto reminded. As Hiro glanced to his mentor, he was unable to counter the statement because it was true he was still half-boiled, being easily swayed by emotions or simply saying, he wears his heart on his sleeve. In other words, Hiro tends to show his feelings and emotions rather than keeping them hidden.

"You never grown at all. Just quit already" Fuuto said before leaving. Ayumu noticed this and tried to follow her late father. but the moment she takes the turn which her father did, Fuuto was gone. Hiro, who was still affected by those words tried to reach his hands towards his mentor but soon fall into unconsciousness. However, he did hear some sentence left by the grim reaper Dopant before fainting. "Did you see that, Kamen Rider? That is proof that I can revive the dead at will!" Death's voice announced.

* * *

That night...

Hiro, with only his pants while his body was bandaged, lay on the bed at the agency after getting his injuries treated by the girls. Ayumu was there, staying by her brother's side. Kirito and the girls are present too, silently watching the Oozora siblings. Kirito explained what happened that evening, especially their encounter with Ayumu's late father. The girls were stunned, especially when they heard he was Kamen Rider Skull.

"Is that so? Ayumu-chan's father was a Kamen Rider..." said Asuna after hearing the whole story. "But is that even possible? If Fuuto-san was already gone, how come he was there?" asked Lisbeth curiously. "I don't know..." Kirito answered bluntly and the girls were silenced by this. Even the black swordsman cannot figure out what is going on. Of course, Ayumu heard all that but she remained silent, mainly because she was confused as well.

"Hey, Kirito. Isn't it about time you told us everything? What Hiro told you?" Sinon suggested. There was a short pause from the black swordsman, who then decided to speak. "To be honest I wanted Hiro to wake up and asked his approval, but I guess it might not matter anymore. If he loses trust in me and all of us, so be it. All right. I'll tell everyone about Hiro's Begins Night" said Kirito. As the black swordsman started to tell everyone about the incident Hiro kept a secret, the said bluenette himself also began to dream about it simultaneously in his sleep.

* * *

 _(Flashback)_

 **20** **th** **April 2059, Sunday**

In the midst of a sea, there is a small island with a tall building. The said building was owned by Dial Corporation, who intended to do something beneficial for society. However, in reality, it is another Gaia Memory Factory in disguise.

Apparently, there is more than meets the eye about this building. Furthermore, on this day, Asaka Fuuto received a request from a certain client to rescue someone and he went there with Hiro. At that time, it was already night, so they used the darkness as an advantage to sneak into the building.

The two of them went through a secret passage mentioned by their client and reached the basement, which lead them to an engine room with stairs, platforms and pipelines. During the mission, Hiro asked his mentor who is the person they are rescuing as he looked at the map layout with a flashlight, which was also given by their client. At that time, Fuuto, who was carrying a small aluminium briefcase, gave him a confusing answer instead of a name.

"The Child of Fate?" echoed Hiro after hearing the said answer to his question by his mentor. "Yeah. The young man who carries everything on the Earth. The enemy is drawing out his power on this island and using it for villainy. That kid is truly a living weapon and being abused as such. _'I want to save him'_. That's what my client wishes for" explained Fuuto as he and Hiro walked through the corridor without making loud sounds and noises.

"He carries everything on the Earth? What do you mean by that?" asked Hiro. "To put it simply, he carries all the knowledge that Earth possesses. You can say this young man is the smartest person among all humans on Earth. He can learn anything anywhere he wants" explained Fuuto. "Oh, that's impressive. From what Boss said, that young man is truly the definition of genius" concluded Hiro. "That's why we are here. To save him and prevent the enemy from abusing his powers" Fuuto said.

Then the bluenette get ahead of his mentor and faced him. "Boss. I'll help too" Hiro volunteered. "That would be help from half a man" said Fuuto. "Listen, Hiro. Obey my orders without fail" he ordered, which made the bluenette sulked. "Tch… At a time and place like this, you're giving me the usual lecture. Can't you trust me?" asked Hiro before his mentor gave a pat on his shoulder. "It's because at a time and place like this" answered Fuuto, which made the bluenette silent briefly, who then responded with a nod. "Understand… I understand. I promise" Hiro promised before his mentor went forward to continue their mission. Suddenly, the alarm buzzed, and the lights were turned on, causing the two to be surprised.

Realising that the enemy had noticed the breaching, Fuuto quickly pulled Hiro into hiding one of the dark spots. Both of them remained silent as they heard footsteps and noticed the presence from a bunch of men in black suits, who were searching for intruders. One of those men shouted 'Search!', which is why they knew the enemy were aware about the facility had intruders roaming around. They even saw those men in black through the gaps.

 _"It's impossible. We haven't done anything that stand out and breach any security system. How come they know we were here?"_ Hiro thought to himself as he became nervous due to the current situation. In any case, they are completely trapped like mice inside a cage. "Come out, thief. Or could it be you are an industrial spy? Either way, you're a puny animal who had wandered into hell" a female voice demanded.

The duo looked through one of the gaps and noticed Taboo Dopant floating to search for the intruders, specifically them. "A monster!" gasped Hiro. "Hiro. I've got an order for you already" Fuuto said before looking to the bluenette. "Hold this and stay here" he ordered as he gave the briefcase to Hiro before warning the latter, "Don't even take a step away from here"

The bluenette becomes worried especially when his mentor decided to deal with all those enemies by himself. "Boss... Are you serious?!" Hiro asked as he stepped forward, but his mentor remain silent and stopped the bluenette before pushing him to the previous spot. Fuuto then left and make his presence known to the enemies.

"There he is!" One of the men in black shouted when he noticed Hiro's mentor, causing the others to regroup. At that time, Fuuto takes off his blazer and throw it to the side as he slowly approaches the enemies. The men in black, one after another began attacking the hard-boiled detective, who swiftly avoided the ones coming at him. Then, Fuuto quickly rode the stairs and while holding the rails kicked the men who tried to follow him. Another man in black, who was already at the stairs try to imitate Fuuto by using the said method against him but Fuuto blocked the kick and pushed him off the platform.

The hard-boiled detective proceeds to deliver a kick at the man's ally before climbing the platform. When another man tried to assault Fuuto, the latter avoided the attack, punch at the stomach and throws him off the platform. The hard-boiled detective continued beating the men in black around him with ease. Then, another man, who seemed to be the leader due to being look old charged and leaped to attack Fuuto from air. The hard-boiled detective, who just beat another of the men, notices this and delivered a spinning roundhouse kick with a jump, which hit the man's face who tried to attack and made him fell to the floor. Fuuto landed spectacularly with a 360 rotation twice while holding his fedora and then spread out his feet after it got intertwined from this.

The man whom Fuuto kicked gets up while holding a Masquerade Gaia Memory in his hand. "Masquerade" he pressed the button and inserted to his face, transforming him into Masquerade Dopant. The other men in black who got beaten regroup and surrounded Fuuto after transforming into Masquerades as well. Then, Taboo rises from the below the platform, making her presence known, which the hard-boiled detective noticed. "You came here to rob me, right? You're my type of man" said Taboo before she kisses her hand, summoning a red energy ball. "But what a pity" she declared, deciding to eliminate Fuuto regardless of her personal opinion.

"One should shoot if they are prepared to be shot as well" said Fuuto as he looked down while holding his fedora before looking at Taboo with a glare. "Lady" he said, which started Taboo.

"It's my policy not to use Gaia Memory for a job, but... you leave me no choice" said Fuuto as he takes out the Lost Driver and equipped it to his waist, transforming it into a belt. The rag doll Dopant was shocked to see this, which made her cancel her attack. "Lost Driver?! Why did you have that?!" she questioned.

Fuuto remained silent and takes out the Skull Memory as he takes off his fedora. **"Skull"** he pressed the button on the memory, insert it into the slot of Lost Driver and pushed it to the right. **"Skull"**

"Henshin" Fuuto muttered as his body transformed into Kamen Rider before putting the fedora on his head. Hiro was in awe and speechless from seeing his mentor transformed. Then Skull pointed his right hand towards his enemies, specifically Taboo while the other Masquerades were on guard, readying to attack. "Now... count up your sins" Fuuto declared as he flicked his hand with a gesture that suggest counting.

The Masquerades charged at Skull and the latter started beating them one by one with ease. Then, the skeletal Kamen Rider leapt off the platform and deal with the masked Dopants below. As this happens, Taboo attempted to blast Skull with a few energy balls. The skeletal Kamen Rider noticed this as he grabbed two of the masked Dopants' necks. When the rag doll unleashes her attack, Skull jumped backwards while using the grabbed Masquerades as shield, which vaporised them instantly upon hit. Simultaneously, the skeletal Kamen Rider took out the Skull Magnum and fired at one of the energy balls to dissipate it. The remaining energy ball almost hit Skull directly on the face, but it missed and left a scratch on his white fedora before falling onto the floor.

The skeletal Kamen Rider rolled backwards as Taboo unleashed another wave of energy ball to avoid a few before using the magnum to shoot down the remaining ones. One of the shots hit the rag doll Dopant and forces her to retreat. The remaining Masquerades then charges at Skull, but he took out the Gaea Sword and began gashing them.

Hiro silently watched the battle but was anxious because he does not know how long this will continue. Out of impulse, he glanced around him and soon spotted someone at a few metres away from him. It was a young man wearing long sleeve white shirt and pants. Despite Hiro could not see what the young man wore on his footwear due to the pipes blocking his sight, he was actually barefooted.

That man had blonde hair, slightly pale skin and blue eyes as sapphire. However, because of the green lighting, it is hard for the Hiro to tell this along with his exact age. However, that blonde in fact looked and was older than the bluenette. The name of this person was Carlos Frank Elisabeth, who was in fact the Child of Fate. However, Hiro does not know the name or the face of the said person. He only saw that young man just went somewhere.

"Is that him?" Hiro muttered as he takes a few steps forward before stopping when he remembered what his mentor said. "Hold this and stay here. Don't take one step away from here" Fuuto's words echoed in the bluenette's mind as he recalled. "No... if I save him now, Boss might see me in a new light" muttered Hiro as he decided to disobey the given order and followed Carlos. The bluenette went after the Child of Fate, to what it seems like the control room. Before Carlos could enter, Hiro called out to him, "Excuse me! Are you the Child of Fate?"

Carlos turned around and saw the bluenette, whom he was not familiar with. "Who are you?" he asked. "O... Oozora Hiro. 21 years old. I came to save you" Hiro introduced himself and explained his reason. However, the Child of Fate does not seem to be surprised nor amazed from hearing this. Instead he looks frowned. "No wonder you don't look like one of the people here. You do not appear to have the intelligence by the organisation" said Carlos before he turned and entered the control room.

Hiro was rather offended from hearing the said statement. _"This guy... he's calling me stupid on our first meeting?! Acting all high and mighty just because he's the current smartest human on Earth. Why are we saving this cheeky guy from the organisation?!"_ he thought to himself in anger before realising something. _"No... calm down. This guy doesn't know me yet. Even if he is smart, he probably couldn't what is right or wrong for him to do. I'll just have to persuade me nicely and if things work out, he'll be a reliable ally"_ the bluenette pondered again as he tries to convince himself and cool his temper.

Realising that he needs to convince Carlos, Hiro followed him into the control room. Upon entering, the bluenette became petrified and amazed simultaneously from seeing what the room contained. On the big screen on the wall from his left, it was displaying data about some of the Gaia Memories used like Hell, Music and Pollen. To his right, there is a table with a glass cover and Hiro approached it. On that table, there are at least 10 Gaia Memories. Then, he looks at the window and saw a production line where Gaia Memories are produced automatically without any help from humans. In other words, it is only the machines doing the job. He was amazed from seeing an advanced futuristic facility being able to mass produce technologies called Gaia Memories. However, what terrifies him is that these technologies are being abused by both the users and the organisation. He knows for sure that humans misuse Gaia Memories for their selfish desires like revenge and such without thinking of the consequences. As for the organisation distributing the Gaia Memories, Hiro himself did not knew what they are trying to achieve from selling the Memories around the city, but he does know that they will benefit something from citizens in the city becoming Dopants.

"Gaia Memories..." Hiro muttered. "What do you think? Aren't these things amazing? Humans can evolve with these Gaia Memories and be able to do things that people cannot do before" asked Carlos as he explained the greatness of Gaia Memories while tapping onto the control panel.

"These Memories. Are you responsible creating them?" asked Hiro. "That's right" confirmed Carlos. "Although I am not involved with it directly recently when they got began using this production line. Regardless, I am the core of the Gaia Memories production" he explained.

"Hey, what's your name?" asked Hiro. "I have no obligation to answer that to a lowly life form like you" Carlos jeered. Hiro once again was offended especially when this child of fate mocked the former like he is better than the rest. However, the bluenette immediately hold his patience again. Carlos then glanced at Hiro and saw him holding a briefcase. Out of curiosity, he grabbed the said case, to the bluenette's surprise. "Hold it. What do you think you're doing?!" questioned Hiro uncomfortably when the blonde snatched the case without asking.

Carlos opens up the briefcase and saw six Gaia Memories: Cyclone, Heat, Luna, Trigger, Metal and Joker. The Double Driver was also present in there. The blonde became amazed when he saw these. "These are amazing!" cried Carlos excitedly before he gets up, turned and approached towards the bluenette. "Who come up with this?"

"No… I was only holding the case but what's so great about the contents?" asked Hiro. "The person who use this Driver can become one with me. Two Memories can be used simultaneously and together with my intelligence, the ultimate superman will be born!" explained Carlos before he started laughing excitedly and wickedly. However, the bluenette loses patience and grabbed the blonde's collar. "What's so funny?! You damn devil!" snarled Hiro. "Devil? Aha ha ha!" echoed Carlos before he laughed again. "What's so funny?!" barked Hiro, which then the blonde stopped and sneered at the bluenette. "Who is the real devil? Me or you?" asked Carlos. "What do you mean?!" growled Hiro angrily before the blonde shakes off the bluenette and free from his grasp.

"I already done my lookup about you, Oozora Hiro. There's nothing really fascinating about you but what you did before being put under probation, wouldn't the devil be you?" explained Carlos before questioning the bluenette. Hiro was shocked to hear about what the blonde said but then realised that the blonde really was the Child of Fate. The proof was that the bluenette did not tell his past to Carlos, but the latter knew about it.

"I see… so you really are the Child of Fate. You can instantly research about anyone with minimum info" deduced Hiro. "Since you carelessly mentioned your name. I can figure out who you are in matter of seconds. Even if you try to give a fake name, I can still figure it out instantly" explained Carlos.

"Then, I'll cut to the chase. That power should be used to help society. For that sake, come with me" Hiro proposed. "I refuse... I told you earlier, I have no obligation to follow orders from a lowly life form like you. You called me a devil but the real devil here was you all along" Carlos rejected the invitation while mocking the bluenette. Hiro however really loses his patience over the blonde for the baseless and derogatory comments before grabbing the latter's collar and pulled him closer. "I've been trying to hold patience over what you said but you sure got a sly tongue, do you?" he said in a cold tone. Carlos however laughed amusingly from hearing this, which caused the bluenette to snap, "Stop laughing! Acting all high and mighty just because you're a genius yet you didn't even know what you did cause big trouble! Do you realised how much the city cried and how many innocent people got sacrificed because of the memories you guys made?!"

"Then, answer this. The workers of a gun factory. Are they all criminals?" asked Carlos. The bluenette gulped in shock from hearing this question. It is a simple question and even idiots knew the answer, yet he kept silent. "Of course not. To begin with, the ones who abused them are foolish humans like you guys. Well, I don't care about that kind of thing. I merely want to see more powerful memories" explained Carlos.

"Shut up!" The last sentence said by the blonde really made Hiro snapped so bad that out of anger, he pushes the former away, making him dropped the Double Driver along with the briefcase of Gaia Memories on the ground. However, unbeknown to the bluenette, there is a teleporter behind Carlos at that time when he got pushed. The device was activated by accident and before the blonde could escape, he got transferred to somewhere else in the building. Hiro was horrified with what just happened and approached the teleporter. He tried to use the panel nearby it to summon Carlos again, but the device malfunctioned after he pushed the latter in there.

As for Carlos, he was transported inside a crystal of some equipment located on the highest floor of the same building. "I got transferred to the Gaia Tower?" he asked himself while touching the glass of the crystal and referred the said device as Gaia Tower. He got trapped there with no way out and the equipment was activated.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the basement of the engine room...

Asaka Fuuto discovered what Hiro had done and the former was very disappointed with the latter. "You fool!" the hard-boiled detective reprimanded the bluenette and punched him on the face. Hiro got hurled towards the pillars before looking back at his mentor. The punch sure hurts him, but he was aware it was his fault for disobeying Fuuto's order and got what he deserved. In other words, Hiro reap what he sowed. "Why didn't you do as I say? If you hadn't pushed that boy, right now..." said Fuuto as he scolded the bluenette.

Hiro then realised the errors of his actions. Because of his desire for recognition from Fuuto, he ended up making the situation much worse than what it supposed to be. Had Hiro followed his mentor's orders to remain at his post, their task would have been much smoother. On top of that, the bluenette can just inform Fuuto that he spotted Carlos whom he believed to be he Child of Fate, after the latter finished taking care of the enemies. However, he disobeys a simple order and the situation now turns for the worst. They had to go up to save the blonde. What the bluenette have not realised at this time was his foolish actions of disobeying orders lead to the demise of not only Fuuto but also Carlos.

* * *

A few minutes later...

Fuuto and Hiro rushed towards the highest floor where the Gaia Tower was located. The bluenette in particular felt guilty over what he did earlier and was speechless. _"That guy... got trapped in there because of me..."_ Hiro thought to himself remorsefully. His mentor then went to approach the machine personally. Hiro wanted to stop Fuuto because he kept hearing the alarm buzzing non-stop, but he could not bring up to say that because his previous actions brought only trouble and stay put. Of course, even Fuuto was aware of the situation even without needing him to say it. Simultaneously, reinforcements from the organisation have arrived and aware about the intruders' location. By that time, hard-boiled detective arrived at the machine. He saw the blonde, desperately trying to escape but to no avail. Fuuto then try to touch the glass wall of the crystal Carlos got trapped in as the latter even reached his hand towards the former. The glass began to crack a little and before the hard-boiled detective even knew it, he was transported into a different subspace by a ray of light which suddenly shines as this happened.

As for Hiro, he was speechless by what just happened. His mentor suddenly vanished along with the child of Fate. However, it does not make him feel any better with the buzzing alarm and due to anxiety, he felt like he heard footsteps approaching even if the enemy's reinforcements are still far away.

As for Fuuto, he found himself in a boundless white subspace and full of bookshelves with books on them. There seems to be almost infinite number of books, but no one can be certain the exact number of them. Planetary Bookshelves is the name of the place he was in currently. Fuuto looks around him and saw Carlos resting his back against one of the shelves while sitting on the floor. The hard-boiled detective then approached the blonde. "Now... shall we go?" asked Fuuto.

"I was told to stay here... by a man whose name was Terror" answered Carlos, who seems to be scared of trying to escape. Then Fuuto crouched, trying to open up to the blonde. "Hey, have you ever made a decision for yourself before?" he asked, which Carlos replied by shaking his head. "Then you start today" said Fuuto before he stood. "Decide for yourself to leave this dark jail. And once you are free, you will count up your sins" he continued before turning to the opposite direction.

Carlos was surprised from hearing this and stood. "My... sins..." he muttered. "What's your name?" asked Fuuto. "Carlos... Frank..." the blonde answered. "Then, Carlos. Let's go. I can't leave Hiro out there for long" said Fuuto. "Before that, I would like to ask something" said Carlos. "What is it?" replied Fuuto.

"That boy is nothing more than a pain in the neck. Why do you decide to take him under your wing when your responsibility to look after him already expired when his probation period was over?" asked Carlos. "I don't have any logical reasons to explain it but... nobody's perfect. That includes him, me, you and all living beings on Earth. We all have our own strengths and weakness. None of us can survive on our own. Living while supporting each other is the game called life" explained Fuuto. "I don't understand..." Carlos admitted. "Well... you'll understand what I mean but... for the time being. We must leave" said Fuuto.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside the Gaia Tower, Hiro was looking out for enemy reinforcements and he cannot help but felt nervous about it. Then, the bluenette noticed a ray of light flashing from the said machine and two individuals came out. It was none other than Fuuto, who was supporting Carlos to walk with his shoulders as the latter carried the briefcase.

The bluenette soon rushed towards the duo and without saying a word, he helped to switch place with his mentor to support Carlos walking. However, unbeknownst to the trio, the enemy reinforcements consisted of men in black armed with guns had arrived by that time and at their blind spots.

A few of them suddenly pulled the trigger to shoot at them, specifically they shoot at Fuuto. The said detective got hit at his back from the bullets and collapsed to the floor. His fedora ended up falling along the way. The apprentice was shocked, let go of Carlos and went to check on Fuuto. "Boss!" Hiro called out worriedly and try to help. Unfortunately, the bullets hit his mentor's vital organs and he is beyond saving. It is only a matter of time before his life fades away.

As this happens, Fuuto struggled with all his might in his hand to reach out his dropped fedora before putting it on his apprentice. "Hiro… Continue this case for me and keep that boy safe" Fuuto started, which the bluenette was too confused to react about this. "Plus, look after this city and my daughter until she got married a man worthy of having her" the elder detective told the bluenette as he passed his fedora to the latter.

Tears started falling as Hiro started sobbing. Everything that happens was too sudden. He knew his mentor got shot but he did not want to believe that the latter is going to die in a matter of time. Now, Fuuto even goes as far as asking Hiro to fulfil his final requests. "Please forgive me. This fedora is still too early for me… I am not ready yet!" the bluenette cried as he regrettably apologised to his mentor. "Then be a man worthy of it" said Fuuto amusingly before he lied his head down, shut his eyes as his life fades away, dying for real. The bluenette was horrified could not believe what he really sees. Someone who he admired as a fatherly figure and his mentor in being a detective, die before his very eyes. "Boss!" yelled Hiro as he mourned for his mentor's death. At this time, the enemy reinforcements are approaching them.

Carlos stood there and silently watched what happened. It was too sudden but Fuuto's death affected him as he was shocked too. He then glanced towards the mourning bluenette, who could not stop crying out his mentor's name. "My sins..." he muttered to himself before looking at the case that he was holding.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the bluenette shaken and broke. Hiro was forced to back off by surprised while Fuuto's corpse fell off the current floor. Afterwards, Taboo emerged from the hole created. Carlos rushed towards the bluenette and pulled him away before attempting to flee.

However, those men in black started shooting at Hiro and Carlos during the attempts. To make things worse, there is a helicopter armed with a mounted, machine gun turret already on standby outside the building. When the duo was spotted by the pilot of that vehicle, the chopper started raining the building with bullets, forcing Hiro and Carlos to hide behind the railings of nearby stairs.

 _"At this rate, both of us will be goners... If that's the case we need to use this Driver and the Memories in this case"_ thought Carlos before he glanced towards the briefcase, then to the bluenette who was covering his ears from the noise of gunshots. _"No... I can't let this guy use the driver and transform together with me. He'll drag both of us down. I'll have to handle this by myself"_ he argued to himself and finds Hiro unworthy to use the Double Driver and become the body of Kamen Rider Double.

The blonde then took out Lost Driver from his clothing and equipped the said Driver to his waist, which becomes a belt. Next, he opens the briefcase and take the Cyclone Memory before closing the briefcase. **"Cyclone"** Carlos pressed the button on this green Gaia Memory, which announced its name. The bluenette heard and glanced behind him, only to saw the blonde holding the Cyclone Memory and ready to transform. "Henshin!" Carlos cried and inserted the memory into the Lost Driver before pushing the slot towards the right. **"Cyclone"**

In a blink of an eye, the blonde transformed into Kamen Rider Cyclone. Upon completing the transformation, a gust of wind appeared and blew around him, which forces Hiro to cover his face. Not only that, the hurricane was so strong and spreads outside the building through the broken glass before it makes the present helicopter to lose control and crashed towards the building.

When this happens, the higher floors, especially the one where Hiro and the green Kamen Rider are at begins to collapse before they fall as well. Cyclone grabbed the bluenette as well as the case before they successfully landed into the confined parking space located at least 15 floors below them. "Looks like we're safe for now" Carlos said. As for the bluenette, he was confused about what happened and do not know how to react when everything happens so quick. Though, he did notice and was amazed from seeing the blonde transformed into Kamen Rider and to save themselves.

"Kamen Rider..." Hiro muttered. "Kamen Rider? What's that?" echoed Carlos as he glanced to the bluenette, whom the former was holding in his left arm before raising the question. "What you transformed into. The people of Amanohara called this form is Kamen Rider. The masked ally of justice who rode on bike to save people in trouble" explained Hiro. "I see... so I guess I am Kamen Rider Cyclone" replied Carlos understandably before proclaiming himself with the title of Kamen Rider Cyclone.

However, before the duo could continue their conversation, they heard footsteps approaching and soon saw a group of Masquerades. The green Kamen Rider realised he had to fight and put down the bluenette before entrusting the briefcase to him. "Stay here and don't move... I'll finish this quick" ordered Carlos. Then, Cyclone charged towards those masked Dopants and fought them. The Masquerades were no match for the green Kamen Rider because of the memory's ability to boost agility in movement and the wind effects that appeared with every combat action of hand fighting done to the enemies.

"Amazing…" Hiro muttered to himself as he was awed when seeing how Carlos fight as a Kamen Rider. The bluenette seen Fuuto fought as Kamen Rider a few times before and was amazed. However, his mentor was already experienced in fighting Dopants, which Hiro could assume it has been more than a year. In additional, Fuuto was already used with fighting against thugs. Carlos on the other hand, whom Hiro saw as a newbie that had no experience was practically capable of fighting.

Whether the blonde already practise about the knowledge of fighting beforehand or not was unknown but the bluenette do aware that knowledge alone is not enough for anyone to fight like this on the spot. To begin with, if a person's body is not physically fit or exercised regularly, he or she would not be able to withstand the strains of extreme physical movement and the pain would last for days.

Though, this can also be contributed by the power of Gaia Memory that allows its user to move nimbly as he/she imagined while doing the act. Either way, it does not change the fact Carlos helped to clear out the enemies that chased them. Suddenly a few red energy balls suddenly came out of nowhere and blasted Cyclone when he was fighting the Masquerades.

The bluenette glanced to the direction where the blasts came from and saw Taboo descending from above. "It's that Dopant from the basement" Hiro muttered. Cyclone then gets up and saw the rag doll Dopant as well. "Oh, dear. Looks like I've got some troublesome enemy" said Carlos. Taboo, without even saying anything launches a wave of energy balls and lobbed them towards the green Kamen Rider.

Cyclone backs off with two backflips in a row, which somehow made him survived the attack. However, the surrounding Masquerades nearby attacked the green Kamen Rider to fall on the floor. Taboo continued the same attack pattern, which forces Cyclone to be on the defensive and evasive actions without any chance to counterattack. While the masked Dopants are a bunch of small fries, the numbers make up for their lack in strength to make trouble for the green Kamen Rider.

Hiro noticed what is going on. He was well aware despite of Carlos being able to fight, he is without a doubt new to this thing. Unlike Fuuto, who was used with fighting enemies alone, Carlos is still a beginner. Knowing this, the bluenette wanted to help the green Kamen Rider but he is powerless as he is.

" _I need to help him… But as of now, I'm too powerless to help. What I can do…? If only I got Gaia Memories to use…"_ thought Hiro before he realised something. _"Gaia Memories?"_ he muttered in his mind before he looked at the briefcase he was holding. The bluenette then recalled that there was a Driver that can use two Gaia Memories simultaneously. Without any delay, he quickly put briefcase on the floor and opened it. His guess was right, which contained the Double Driver and six Gaia Memories, which the Cyclone Memory was already being used by Carlos. The bluenette observed the structure on the Driver and the remaining Gaia Memories.

After at one glance, the bluenette believe he understood how to use it, took out the Double Driver and all the five memories inside. He puts Luna, Joker and Metal inside his pocket while he held Heat and Trigger Memory in his right and left hand respectively. The bluenette puts the Double Driver on his waist, which becomes a belt before pressing the button on the Gaia Memories. **"Heat" "Trigger"**

Carlos, being the Child of Fate immediately turned to the bluenette after hearing him pressed it, which the Memories' announcement echoed in his ear and became worried from inside the suit. "Stop it! Don't insert those!" he warned however the bluenette did not bother to listen. "Henshin!" Hiro yelled before inserting Heat and Trigger into the right and left slots respectively. Afterwards, the bluenette spread the Driver into a W-shape. **"Heat Trigger"** The Gaia Memories announced after being put in the said position. However, instead of transforming into a Kamen Rider, the Double Driver started to discharge electricity and causes a rebound, forcibly detaching the belt off his waist and the bluenette himself was sent flying before crashing against the wall.

At the moment Hiro crashed against the wall, the remaining three Gaia Memories, Luna, Joker and Metal were dropped onto the floor. _"That guy did not even know the proper protocol of using that Driver. It's meant to be used by two people. The transformation won't happen by just only one person"_ thought Carlos. As for the enemies, they were confused as to what just happened. Regardless, Taboo decided to take matters into hands by eliminating the bluenette first as she floats towards him. "How dare you try to scare me… I'll eliminate you first!" she declared before summoning a red energy ball. The green Kamen Rider was horrified when seeing this. If that attack hits the bluenette, he will be vaporised. Knowing Hiro's life is in danger, Cyclone run towards him, only to be intercepted by the Masquerades.

Without thinking, the green Kamen Rider forced his way through by ramming with his body. Then as this happens, Taboo unleashes the energy ball and lobbed it towards the bluenette. By that time, Hiro noticed this, but he was unable to move or speak because of fear. Not to mention, he was powerless. Before Hiro even know it, Cyclone came and took the attack by shielding him with his own body. Because of this, the green Kamen Rider was reverted to Carlos from taking too much damage. "Are you okay?" the blonde asked.

"Yes..." Hiro answered subtly. "I am glad..." muttered Carlos in relief before his expression changed. Suddenly, he turned his face away from the bluenette and started to vomit. To be specific, it is not undigested food, but blood and Hiro was horrified to see this. "Hey, are you okay?!" asked Hiro worriedly.

"My body is reaching its limit... I guess it's a bad idea for trying to fight when moving normally took all I had" muttered Carlos while coughing a bit. "What's going on?! Explain!" Hiro asked worriedly, not understanding what the blonde was implying.

"From small, I was born frail. Just simple exercise is more than enough to make me collapse. Fighting with your own body when you are not used to it really make my condition extremely worse than I expected. Simply putting it, I'll die soon" explained Carlos as he started spitting blood again on every cough he made. The bluenette became horrified upon hearing this explanation. He did not want to believe it, but the blonde was implying that he is dying.

"No way… Isn't there anything you can do?! You're the smartest person on Earth!" cried Hiro worriedly. "Even being smartest isn't going to save my life…" said Carlos weakly. "No way…" Hiro muttered in disbelief. "I guess this is as far as we go…" deduced Carlos, deciding to forfeit and accept this cruel fate. The bluenette started to weep tears when this happened before grabbing the blonde by his collar.

"Don't give up so easily! Compare to me, you can do more things than I can! Boss requested me to take care of you! I admit I'm wrong and apologise as much as you want but I'm begging you! Don't die on me! You got to live and escape with me! Please!" Hiro pleaded desperately while sobbing with remorse. The blonde then stared at the crying bluenette before a smile was formed on his face. "I see… so that's how it is" Carlos muttered. "No wonder that person believed in you... What an idiot I am for doubting you..." he admitted, which left the bluenette confused. "What are you talking about...?" Hiro asked, not understanding what the blonde was trying to imply.

Then the bluenette noticed Carlos put his right hand on the bluenette's chest. Afterwards, a green light shined brightly that it forces the enemies to cover their was surprised with what is going on, which made his tears stopped flowing. "Hey, what are you trying to do?" he asked. "I am entrusting you the ability to access the infinite archive, AKA Planetary Bookshelves" Carlos answered. "Planetary Bookshelves?" echoed Hiro.

"With this, you'll be able to do what you suggested to me. Give full focus in your mind and you should be able to gain access. Use this power to help people" explained Carlos. "Why...? Why did you have to give me this power that only belong to you?" asked Hiro.

"Fool... I decide this myself. Don't make me reconsider this. It's my fault for doubting you. After all, this can all be avoided if I teach you how to use that Double Driver in the first place. The driver that comes with the case and Memories requires two people to use it simultaneously. One of them had to gain access to the Planetary Bookshelves for this to function. If you find yourself a trustworthy partner, you will be able to achieve more than you ever dreamt of. Explanation aside, I decide it myself that you will be able to reach an unexpected future for the sake of everyone. That's why I am giving you my powers" explained Carlos. "You…" muttered Hiro, somehow heartfully touched by hearing this. "By the way, my name is Carlos Frank. It has not been long but I'm glad to have meet you… Hiro" Carlos said.

In a few seconds later, the bright light suddenly vanished. On that spot, Hiro was revealed to be standing with a Lost Driver on his waist, which left the enemy confused. "What's going on?" Taboo muttered, asking herself what happened. The bluenette eyes are staring at the ground when they see him.

"Now…" started Hiro as he lifted his right hand and pointed at them. "Count up your sins!" he finished and looked forward with determination, which startled the enemies. Then, a small gadget-like figure with the shape of a dinosaur appeared out of nowhere and landed on Hiro's right shoulder. The said figure was Fang Memory in its live mode. Afterwards, the bluenette opened up his right hand, which the gadget landed on his palm. Next, he compressed it with his left, smacked its butt to make a Memory appear before pressing it with his right hand and held it on his left hand. **"Fang"**

"Henshin!" cried Hiro before inserting the memory into the slot and and use it as a lever to spread the buckle before resting the handle of Fang Memory onto the driver, which make it look like a dinosaur head with a horn. **"Fang"** Hiro transformed into a Kamen Rider after the announcement, which almost identical to Cyclone but white with minor black in colour while the overall theme looks like a beast.

Upon completing transformation, Fang began roaring with rage before plunging towards his enemies. He brutally attacked the Masquerades, giving them no chance to counterattack. The white Kamen Rider even uses Arm Sabre (Arm Fang) to instantly slaughter them in one hit. Taboo was startled by this as she saw her lackeys being beaten one by one. Knowing that she would be no match in one to one fight, she summoned a few energy balls and lobbed them at Fang. However, the white Kamen Rider seemingly predicted this and cut the blasts into half, to Taboo's dismay. Afterwards, Fang uses Shoulder Sabre (Shoulder Fang) and lobbed his weapon like a boomerang.

The boomerang weapon moves around randomly, obliterating the Masquerades in its path before managing to hit the rag doll Dopant on her shoulder. Taboo felt intense pain from the attack and was forced to retreat. Concurrently, the building had began to collapse even further, which made Fang to quickly grabbed the six Gaia Memories along with the Double Driver, putting them into the briefcase before escaping as well. Later…

It was already a new day and the sun rises. The building where the bluenette entered had its interior completely collapsed, rendering anyone unable to enter unless the debris were cleared. Luckily, Hiro was able to get out safely and by that time, he was already untransformed. The bluenette walked out exhaustedly while holding the briefcase in his right hand and after a while, he collapsed towards the ground.

 _(Flashback end)_

* * *

"And that's all" Kirito concluded after, more or less, explained the whole story from Hiro's point of view. "I see… So originally it was not Hiro who had that power, but it was someone else by the name Carlos Frank" stated Sinon while Lisbeth was confused. "Wait a second, I got the rough idea what happened but how come Hiro knew about the event that he didn't experience from Carlos's point of view?" asked Lisbeth curiously.

"It's because Carlos become a part of Hiro. Of course, it's nothing weird that he can gain access to Carlos's memories" explained Kirito. "Then, shouldn't Hiro know who the real mastermind of that organisation?" asked Asuna. "No… It's not possible. The only memories he was able to gain access were only their encounters on that night. Hiro tried to see anything else but was unable to do so" Kirito elucidated. "Why? I thought since Carlos become a part of Hiro-san, he could see what Carlos experience in the past" deduced Suguha. "I thought so too but if he cannot do that then I guess there's a limit to how much you can gain access, or those Memories were removed beforehand" Kirito suggested. There was a short silence to the atmosphere. Ayumu heard the whole thing but remained quiet as she gazed towards her unconscious brother. Suddenly, she noticed the crinkles on Hiro's face, which got her attention. "Onii-chan!" Ayumu gasped, which got the attention of Kirito and the others.

The said bluenette then opened his eyes and looked around him. He saw his little sister, Ayumu and afar from him were Kirito and his friends. "You've regained your consciousness?" asked Ayumu worriedly. "Yes…" Hiro answered as he slowly gets up to sitting position. There was a short silence from Kirito and the others, which the bluenette noticed because they were staring at him. He can guess what is going on based on the girls' doubting expression towards him. "Let me guess… Kirito. You told them, right?" Hiro suggested.

"Yeah…" confirmed Kirito. "I see…" replied Hiro before he gets up from his bed and went to change clothes and dressed up. He put up almost everything except a fedora. No one, not even anyone, including Ayumu asked what he is trying to do and just keep quiet. However, before he can do anything, someone knocked on the door and then entered, which got everyone's attention. There are two people entering, Kagami Tetsuo and Nobu Kouji.

"Good evening!" greeted Nobu upon entering the office with his superior. "Oh, tonight is unexpectedly crowded. Are you guys planning a party?" asked Kagami, unaware about the situation. At that time, he was carrying an enveloped filled with documents.

Everyone just remained quiet even though they are being asked. The bluenette just walked towards the door and bypassed the two officers. However, Kagami grabbed Hiro's arm, stopping him from leaving. "Oh, hold it, man. No need to ignore me, Hiro. Where are you going?" he asked before the bluenette gets his arms off from the police officer. "Does it even matter? I… am going to quit being a detective as of today" Hiro said, which left the officers puzzled from hearing this. As for Kirito and the others including Ayumu, they just keep quiet even after hearing this. _"As well as being a Kamen Rider"_ Hiro added in his thoughts before leaving the office.

"For real?" Kagami asked himself while looking confused and thinking. Then, his subordinate started laughing amusingly for a bit. "See, Kagami-san? He really is an irresponsible man!" Nobu smugly pointed out. Then, Kagami approaches Ayumu and lend her the enveloped. "Well, this isn't nothing to worry about, right?" he asked, trying to cheer up the situation. However, the pink hair girl just stays quiet and turned her eyes away. "I mean, he doesn't have anywhere to go but here, right?" Kagami suggested before he went to put the enveloped at the work table. "It's because he's still a novice" he said before leaving through the door. Nobu then noticed his superior leaving and hastily called out to him before taking his leave as well.

There was a short silence afterwards before it was broken by the youngest girl among Kirito's friends. "What was the purpose of their visit?" asked Silica, referring to what the two officers doing. "I bet Hiro asked information about this case" guessed Lisbeth. "But it's too bad our client even cancelled her request" said Suguha.

"Regardless, we got to do something about that Dopant. I bet the culprit is planning something nasty to Fumiko-san" Asuna pointed out. "But with Hiro in that condition, will this be okay?" asked Sinon worriedly.

"In any case, we'll have to make our move" said Kirito before he went to the work table and fetch the delivered envelope. However, before the black swordsman could try open it, Ayumu suddenly snatched it away from him, to his surprise. "We're restarting the investigation. I'm joining too" the pink hair girl declared and volunteered.

The other girls felt that after Ayumu heard the truth about her father, she may not be mentally stable to do investigation normally. Thus, it is only better if they persuade her to stand down. "Are you sure, Ayumu-chan? Don't force yourself" suggested Asuna.

"I agree too. You heard what Kirito told us right, about your father..." added Lisbeth before she was interrupted. "Stop!" cried Ayumu suddenly, which surprises everyone else. Then, they saw the pink hair girl was shedding a bit of tears from her eyes, but she held back from sobbing. "You guys don't need to say it... Even if that was the truth, I... will listen and accept the truth when I hear it directly from that Baka Aniki (Stupid Brother)..." said Ayumu before she silently left and entered the garage.

"I guess we shouldn't meddle with what she wants to do..." deduced Sinon. "But, why did Ayumu acted like that? I cannot comprehend at all" Lisbeth stated. "I kind of understand how Ayumu-chan feel" said Asuna. "Me too" added Suguha. "Why? How?" asked Silica curiously.

"Well, simply saying. It's because they are a family. Just like me and Asuna-san, we are fellow younger sisters in our own family" explained Suguha. "In Ayumu-chan's case, she gets into fight with Hiro-kun a lot. While in the eyes of others, it might be rather childish for siblings to get into fights often and seems to put on a bad impression of their family but that's how they get along and learn to love each other as a family" Asuna elucidated further.

"Ayumu must have realised that her big brother was bearing the burden alone, yet she could not hate him as much as she thought because they get into fights often. Is that what you two meant?" Sinon concluded from hearing the explanations from Asuna and Suguha. "Yes... That's how it is" Suguha confirmed.

As the girls were discussing, Kirito pondered about what they said before looking towards the door to the garage, where the fedoras were hanged at. Specifically, he was looking at the white fedora that has a cut. He realised that hat must be a memento Hiro received from his late mentor. Up until now from their encounter, Kirito never saw Hiro wear that fedora even once and the latter did not even allow anyone to mess up with it. Then, he thought of something, which he believes he knew where the bluenette went.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Elisabeth mansion, there is a party taking place, where the guests are people from the royal family, celebrities and had high class status.

Sara and Hermione are discussing about the rumours that happened in the city to their father, who was holding the family pet cat, Riki in his arms while Junnosuke went to grab drinks before giving a glass to his wife, Hermione during the conversation.

"The rumour rocking Amanohara about the dead coming back to life?" echoed Shane before he chuckled amusingly. "Because of the Memory I gave as a present, some very interesting things are happening" the head of family explained.

"We are thinking of going to check it out for ourselves next time" said Hermione, referring to herself and her husband. "Maybe I will go too. I am interested in that Memory" Sara said, having an interest to join her sister.

As for Junnosuke, he just kept quiet but was pondering about the conversation his family members are having. "Speaking of which, I saw Otou-san in an unusual place the other day" he thought and try to recall what happened.

 _(Flashback)_

At that time, Junnosuke was walking by an alleyway and by chance, he saw two figures meeting each other. He quickly hides at a spot and try to peek. Junnosuke recognised one of them, which obviously was Shane because of his stature and face built along with the glasses. The other one was unidentifiable because he/she was wearing a long coat, sunglasses, hat and mask to conceal his/her stature and face.

Junnosuke did not know what did the two talked about since he already saw them like that when he spotted them. Though, he did see his father in law taking out a Gaia Memory and lend it to that unknown person. "Use this" said Shane before the person in front of him accepted it.

"You have my gratitude, sir. I shall use it to do a splendid show. Look forward to it" said the figure with a hoarse voice. It is unknown if this person is male or female. He/she may had used a voice changing device on his/her neck or mask to conceal his/her true voice. As for Shane, he laughed amusingly for a bit after hearing this. "Then, as you wish, I look forward to what interesting show you are going to come up with" he said.

 _(Flashback end)_

 _"Did he give it to that person? A Memory with such great power like that..."_ Junnosuke muttered in his mind. At that time, his father in law was attending to other guests. "Thank you for coming" Shane thanked the guest before he lifts his glass and increase the tone of his voice. "Then to the guest who came... Cheers!" he declared. "Cheers!" the other guests and family members of Elisabeth family gave the same response and cheered.

* * *

Simultaneously, within a residential area, one of the houses was owned by the Yano family, which the only person living there was Yano Fumiko. Currently, she was inside the house in her pyjama. An unusual guest pays a visit and called out to her, which she went downstairs and looked outside through a window. There, Fumiko saw the grim reaper Dopant, which Hiro and Ayumu encountered a few hours ago. She looks scared but somehow tempted by Death.

"Those detectives won't probably come again…" Death stated, which his voice echoed inside the house even though he was outside. "Is it true? Is it true you can bring my sister back to life once more?" asked Fumiko, who was filled with hope and doubt simultaneously.

"Yeah…" said Death confirmedly with a nod. "Only if you agree to my terms" he added. There was a brief silence before Fumiko gave the grim reaper Dopant her answer. "I will do as you wish" she accepted the condition set by Death, who responded with a nod. "Very good. Your only salvation is me" said the grim reaper Dopant before he flew off and left.

* * *

 **30** **th** **August 2060, Monday**

It was already morning. Amidst the sea, a boat was sailing to a desolated island. On that boat, there was the seafarer and Hiro. He was carrying a bouquet of flowers. As soon as the boat arrived at the island, Hiro approaches the building that is in ruins and then left the flowers there. The bluenette was in fact visiting the last place he saw his mentor, which had become his grave. Since Fuuto's body was not retrieved and buried deep in those ruins, Hiro could only think of doing this and pay his respects.

The bluenette remained in deep thought, recalling back what happened during the event he had claimed as Begins Night. It was a depressing past for him, especially it involves his late mentor. Not to mention that his daughter was adopted to the Oozora family as Hiro's sister. The bluenette had yet to reveal the truth about this to Ayumu himself but she apparently heard it from Kirito and the others. Wondering how much she might loathe him for keeping her in the dark for more than a year, he pondered to find the proper way to explain things to his own sister.

"Are you visiting Asaka Fuuto's grave?" a familiar male voice asked, which got the bluenette's attention as he turned around and saw who it was. That voice belongs to none other than Kirito, who was holding a black fedora with his right hand and had a bag hanging over his shoulder. "Kirito…" muttered Hiro in surprise and he glanced around before noticing the Hard-Splasher nearby, which is the black swordsman method of transportation. "You… How did you know about this place? I don't remember telling you how to come here" he asked curiously.

"I had Yui investigated for me. Since that incident happened in April last year and the ruins was on a desolated island, it wasn't hard to find out. If the shortest distance by sea was from Amanohara City, it's easier to locate the exact island" explained Kirito.

"I see… I got to admit there are only a few uninhabited islands away from the city. The only island big and closest enough to make a building was only here so far" said Hiro. "In any case, what are you here for?" he asked. "Isn't it obvious? I come to pick you up" said Kirito as he approaches the bluenette. There was a brief silent and, in a few seconds, later, it was broken by the bluenette. "Sorry... I can't do that... I'm no longer a detective..." muttered Hiro despondently.

Kirito kept quiet for a while upon hearing this response. He opens up his bag and kept the fedora inside there. Afterwards, the black swordsman slowly approaches the bluenette, with his right-hand clenching into fist. Hiro noticed his partner approaching but before he even knows it, Kirito suddenly punched him on the face, causing the bluenette to fall on the ground by surprise.

Of course, realising what just happened made Hiro rather ticked off and glared at the black swordsman. If anyone suddenly beat you like that without warning, it is natural to get provoked. "What are you doing?!" barked Hiro.

"That's what I am doing. I trying to beat some sense into you" said Kirito determinedly, having no remorse over his action. "What was that?! You're implying I'm insane?!" growled Hiro. "Pathetic to be specific. If you are so angry at me, try to hit me back. We'll fight to see who is better" explained Kirito before provoking, which made the bluenette clenched his teeth annoyingly even further that causes him to stand. "Very well! I accept your challenge!" Hiro declared. The black swordsman put away his bag and then backs off a few steps before readying himself in a fighting stance like a martial art fighter.

Upon seeing this stance, without further ado, Hiro rushed towards Kirito to land a punch on him. However, the black swordsman stopped the attack by grabbing the bluenette's fist before countering with a right knee kick towards the stomach and then pushing with a chop to the neck, pushing him to the ground.

Hiro was surprised with what just happened. Kirito not only stopped the bluenette's attack but countered against him too. "No... that is not possible. This is not even a battle of swords. I cannot lose against him, not when I am way experienced than him" Hiro thought to himself. Afterwards, he gets up and continue to fight against Kirito, as in hand to hand combat.

10 minutes later...

Hiro was on the ground, panting in exhaustion while Kirito approached the former while crouching. "Isn't this enough? Any further is meaningless. You can't beat me" he said. "How...?" Hiro asked in disbelief. "We are not even clashing swords. In this kind of battle, I should have won. After all, I am more experienced than you" he argued.

"Indeed. I have to admit, when it comes to fighting without using any weapons, you might be superior, but nothing is absolute. The reason that you lost was because your resolve had shattered into pieces of glasses during the fight just now" explained Kirito. "I see... In other words, I am just fighting blindly and underestimated you. I can't deny that" Hiro concluded. "Yeah. Regardless how experience you are in martial arts, if you are mentally weak, without a doubt, you will fall to defeat even against novice fighters like me" Kirito added. "I understand... No need to say any further. I guess I am just some no good guy who just like to keep secrets from his own family" Hiro said despondently.

"Ayumu... is worried. About you" muttered Kirito, which made the bluenette glanced at the former. "What do you mean?" asked Hiro before the black swordsman grabbed the former by the collar and pulled him towards the latter. "Do I have to spell it out?! She wasn't angry at you! All she wants is to hear the truth directly from you. How could you act like you are going to commit suicide?!" Kirito berated.

The bluenette was silenced and surprised from hearing what the black swordsman said before the latter let go of him. "Plus... it's quite troublesome if you leave to the other world now. You promised that you will bring us back home. I want you to fulfil the promises you made to us. No... not just us. If you are gone, who is going to be by Ayumu's side when she is getting married? Surely enough we won't be able to fulfil that role. It's a role that only belongs to you" Kirito added further. "Kirito..." muttered Hiro. "If you want to repent for your own wrongdoings, then live and make up for it. Dying won't solve anything" Kirito told him.

There was a short silence between them. Then, it was broken by the sound of ringing phone. Hiro noticed that it was from his Stag Phone. He took it out and take a look who the caller was. To his surprise, it was from his little sister. "Ayumu...?" he muttered before answering the call and placed the phone near his left ear.

"Hello. It's your Chief-sama" greeted Ayumu. "Ayumu..." muttered Hiro. "For the time being, the rest of us had marked Fumiko-san and secretly following her. She seems to be meeting someone soon. I had a bad feeling about this so that is why we are following her" explained Ayumu. At that time, the pink haired girl was in the city, secretly pursuing Yano Fumiko, who was in disguised with sunglasses and black coat.

The Chief was not alone. Asuna and the others were with her as well. Though, they are distancing themselves from each other as pairs and pretended to be normal passer-by if the target noticed their presence.

"I handed the information of Officer Kagami to Kirito-kun. Do lookup into it" Ayumu said further. Her big brother was surprised with what she did. Even though the client turned down her request, Ayumu is willing to use her own time to observe Fumiko in case anything happen to her.

Normally, when clients turned down their own request so suddenly for whatever reason it is, the hired people would never bother to care about them anymore. The reason for that is those clients believed the hired people are unworthy to fulfil the desired request and cannot be trusted. It left a bad impression towards those who are doing business.

"You... are following up on the investigation with everyone?" asked Hiro. "Of course!" answered Ayumu. "Fumiko-san is our client!" she stated. Upon hearing that, Hiro remembers what his mentor said regarding their clients. A client hires someone to fulfil a request he/she cannot do on their own. While payment is part of gift and take, the hired person had to do their job earnestly with all their might. As for detectives, clients hire them to investigate the truth of any mysteries, which comes with dangers. That is the basic and role of being detectives.

"I don't remember clearly about my Otou-san and had no idea what being detectives mean. But, Onii-chan told me this before. 'The most important part of being detectives is their client'. That being Otou-san's motto. Which is why... I am going to protect that belief" explained Ayumu.

Upon hearing that, Hiro started to shed tears a little from his sister heartfelt speech. While the situation got completely mixed up with all the things that happened, Ayumu was able to remain calm and tackle the problem wisely, compared to the bluenette himself. Knowing this, Hiro felt so ashamed of himself. "You're so tough..." he muttered.

"Well, she is the memento of your mentor" added Kirito, which made the bluenette realised Ayumu realised she was acting the same way as her father, who was Hiro's mentor. Realising that he should stop hiding things from her, the bluenette said this on the phone, "Ayumu. When this case is over, I'll properly tell you everything about Boss so... can you wait for me?"

Ayumu was a bit puzzled but elated from hearing that her big brother is going to reveal everything about her late father. "Okay!" she said excitedly before they ended the call.

As Hiro ended the call with Ayumu, he had smile slightly, which Kirito noticed. Without saying anything, the black swordsman took out the black fedora and lend it to the bluenette, which the latter soon aware about and became confused. "Here. I'm sure you need this protective charm. You're wearing this all the time during the investigation" said Kirito before he gave his other hand to help the bluenette get up. Without saying a word while smiling, Hiro accepted the fedora and helping hand from the black swordsman before getting up on his feet. "You're right... I guess I'm not thinking straight when I suddenly left the office and claimed I'm quitting to be a detective. All I did was trying to run away from the truth" the bluenette explained as he wear the fedora on his head. "Sorry..." he apologised.

"Don't mind about it. More importantly, we need to discover the truth of this case. Enter the Planetary Bookshelves, Hiro" ordered Kirito. "Roger" Hiro agreed and then walked forward ahead of the black swordsman before raising his arms and focused his mind. In a few seconds later, the bluenette opened his eyes of his mind and found himself inside the Planetary Bookshelves.

"Hiro. We're looking up the culprit. The search subject is **{culprit's identity}**. Keywords: Death, Resurrection and Yano Emiko" Kirito said as Hiro inputted the keywords and started to par the number of books in the Planetary Bookshelves.

"I did a lookup around there on my way here... but I can't reduce the books any further" the bluenette stated as the number of shelves and books are still many even after the keywords were inputted. Kirito then remembered that Ayumu handed him information from Officer Kagami along with the other informants and took out the envelope with other documents before opening it. "The information from our informants and police's reports... There must be a common point which is the keyword, we're looking for" he stated while looking over the information given by the police. Apart from the magazine which features about the pair idols, Yano sisters, the information given by the police are reports regarding victims, who were past celebrities that lost their loved ones before they went missing.

Kirito glanced over at those reports but had yet to see the other points that are common among the victims other than being celebrities. It is a mixed of male and female while their ages are not that close to each other. The loved ones that they lost had nothing in common either. Kirito looked over the reports again before he noticed something, which made his eyes widen.

It was the date written above the title in larger fonts, which indicates when the incident began to happen. While it occurs on different month for each victim, it was stated there by the witnesses that the victims saw their deceased loved ones on the 22nd of its respective month.

 _"Wait a second. The victims noticed the deceased people that they loved on the 22nd. If I am not mistaken, Ayumu told me that a week ago from yesterday, Fumiko-san also noticed her deceased sister too. Yesterday was 29th and seven days from before would mean... That's it!"_ Kirito pondered before managing to figure out the hidden keyword. He then approaches the bluenette closer. "Hiro. I got one more. Keyword: 22nd" Kirito told him. The bluenette inputted the keyword told to him, which made all the books unrelated to go away, leaving only one book left from the lookup.

Hiro approaches and pick up the resulted book to read it, which the title displayed on the cover was Priest. In a minute later, he exited the Planetary Bookshelves to inform his finding to Kirito. "It is a book called Priest. A certain priest started an Association of Darkness and Silence. It has drawn circles of famous people. It occurs on the 22nd of every month" explained Hiro.

"I see... Then I presumed you know the exact priest who the culprit of this incident?" Kirito deduced. "Yes" Hiro confirmed. "We need to hurry. I am counting on to take the wheel. I'll tell Ayumu the result" he requested. "Okay. Leave it to me" said Kirito. The duo then hurries to the Hard-Splasher and rode on it, with Kirito handling the driving.

As they surf through the sea on their way back to Amanohara, Hiro take out the Stag Phone and contacted Ayumu. At that time, she was still in pursuit of Fumiko with Asuna and the others. Coincidentally, the client that they are following is getting closer to a church and not many people are seen around.

The girls are sticking together since there is not many hiding spots anymore. Ayumu, realising that she got a phone call from her brother, answered it. "Hello, Onii-chan. What's wrong?" greeted Ayumu before asking.

"I know who the culprit Fumiko-san is trying to meet with. It's the priest that we encountered yesterday when we visited Emiko-san's grave" explained Hiro. "Eh?" Ayumu replied confusingly before Lisbeth, who was nearby tapped on the former at her shoulder, which got her attention.

The blacksmith pointed her finger to where their target of pursuit, Fumiko was. The client is meeting with Adolf Osamu, the priest that the Oozora siblings encountered yesterday. Ayumu's eyes widen when she saw this scene and recognised him immediately. At that time, those two talked something for a bit before Adolf guided Fumiko to follow him before they left.

"I found the priest that the two of us met at the tombstone yesterday. We're going to follow them" Ayumu reported. "Be careful... We're on our way there too" said Hiro before Ayumu ended the call.

* * *

The girls stalked Fumiko as she follows Adolf into the church. Of course, they try their best not to be noticed and waited for the priest to close the door after the celebrity entered. They waited for a bit, tested the door and then slipped inside.

A while before the girls intrude, Adolf guided Fumiko to follow him as the two go up the step of stairs. The priest told her to wait when they reached the intermediate landing as he gets himself to prepare and went ahead upstairs.

Fumiko looks around while having doubts about the offer given by the priest to unite her with her late sister, Emiko. However, she was not able to get over her sister's death and desperate to be with her deceased family member. The celebrity was having this kind of thoughts until she notices Ayumu and the others sneaking in. "Ayumu-chan!" gasped Fumiko as the mentioned person went to approach the former with Asuna and the others. "Fumiko-san! Why?! Why didn't you contact me?!" Ayumu asked worriedly in a whispering tone. "Hold on… What are you doing here? Who are they?" asked Fumiko, somehow surprised with the big crowd. "Please to meet you. I am Asuna. These are Lisbeth, Silica, Suguha and Sinon. We're Ayumu's friends and worked under her agency" Asuna introduced herself along with the others.

"We came here because we were worried about you" said Lisbeth. Then, Hiro's little sister takes Fumiko's hand and held it. "Let's run. That guy's a Dopant" Ayumu suggested. "It's fine!" Fumiko claimed, forcing her hands away from Ayumu. "What?!" gasped Asuna. "How come it's fine?! That priest might be lying to you. Why?" asked Suguha confusingly and worriedly.

"I already knew that person is not normal, but he is the only one who can bring my sister back to life" answered Fumiko. "It's not like we cannot comprehend your feelings but... this is totally wrong, Fumiko-san" Silica pointed out. "I agree. There's no telling what ulterior motives that man has for inviting you here. Like Suguha said, he might be lying to you in the first place. Open your eyes, Fumiko-san" Sinon pleaded. "You might even lose your own life. Why do you need to go this far?" asked Silica.

"I know... but... Despite that... I wanted to live with Onee-chan" whispered Fumiko. The girls from the detective agency were horrified to hear this. Ayumu, in particular was rather offended in this matter since she was longing to see her father for years but learnt that he had passed away by the time the Oozora family adopted her. "Don't be stupid! The dead won't come back to life anymore!" Ayumu cried, with tears slightly flowing from her eyes.

There was a brief silence in the atmosphere afterwards, until a certain man appears from the railing on the upper floor. That man is none other than Adolf Osamu. "Did you know... my identity?" he questioned before growling. The girls then became aware of the priest presence and look above them before becoming horrified. "This is bad! Run!" shouted Asuna. Without wasting any time, Ayumu grabbed Fumiko's hand and forced her to run as Asuna and the rest try to flee. However, before they could reach the door, a gunshot was heard, and the bullet hits the floor near the door, which made them halted their steps. The girls turned around and saw that the one responsible for that was Adolf Osamu himself, who possesses a Glock 18 gun in his hands. The said priest was going down the stairs. "I was wondering why it was so noisy for a while, but it looks like a bunch of mice just broke in from the front door" he stated as he reached the ground floor before pointing the gun at the girls. "Now, do as what I say. Try anything funny and I'll sent all of you ladies, one by one to the afterlife" Adolf threatened them.

" _Darn it!"_ growled Asuna in her mind as she gritted her teeth in frustration. "Now! Put your hands in the air and walk towards the door at the junction of that stairs! Do any weird things, you'll know what's going to happen" Adolf blackmailed them. The girls reluctantly obeyed the order given and go up the stairs, reaching the intermediate landing. As a precaution, Adolf kept his distance away while pointing the gun at them, readying to shoot any time. When the girls arrived at the intermediate landing, the priest said, "Opened that door and get in there!"

Without any delay, Asuna and Suguha who was at the front line opens the two doors before them and the girls went inside. The room that they entered was rather spacious, had many coffin size boxes near the walls and windows on elevated platforms. Inside those coffins, there were people inside, presumably sleeping or already dead. Those people are Amanohara celebrities that went missing. The room also had an eerie and gloomy atmosphere to it, which can scare anyone.

"What is this place?" Suguha asked. "I don't really like this..." muttered Asuna. The next thing that happens were screams. It came from Silica and Lisbeth because they were pushed by Adolf and forces Ayumu, Sinon, and Fumiko to fall on the floor with them, which Asuna and Suguha noticed. Worried, those two went to check up on their friends, asking if they are all right.

As for Adolf, he walked forward to the centre of the room while chuckling wickedly. "This is the party ground for my Association of Darkness and Silence. Famous Amanohara members will sleep eternally in here. They were all people who longed to be reunited with the dead loved ones" he explained.

Ayumu gave the others the sign to flee at once when the priest was occupied with his speech and they rushed towards the door. However, it seems Adolf noticed this coming and shoot with his gun at the floor nearby the door, which startled and halted the girls. Then, he approaches and grabbed Fumiko's arm, trying to take her away.

Ayumu soon charged at the priest, trying to land a punch for saving her client. Though, Adolf easily avoided this and when Ayumu turned around, he just shoved her away in one punch on her face, sending her flying into one of the opened coffins.

The pink haired girl was shut inside as the cover closes after she fell in there, which surprises the other girls. "Ayumu!" "Ayumu-chan!" Asuna and the rest called her name worriedly. The girls tried to go after Ayumu, but their attention and worries were halted when Adolf pointed the gun in front of them, namely near Lisbeth and they were startled from this.

"You girls have no luxury to worry about others right now. After all, the rest of you are going to follow her into the after world" he threatened them. "I thought that Yano Fumiko is the only one coming, but I never expected extra guests. Normally I would offer a chance for every one of you to reunite with the deceased people that you love but I think eliminating you with this gun would be more exciting" the priest explained further in an eerily manner.

"You... What did you do to those people inside the coffins? What happened to them?" questioned Suguha. "They are no longer in this world! And they will sleep in here eternally while filled with memories of your deceased loved ones" said Adolf before leering at Fumiko and hold her shoulder.

The female client then realised the truth. This man is lying to her in the first place and he had done the same to the others before her. Terrified, she shakes his hands off her and backs off depressingly.

"No! Why would you do that?!" Fumiko questioned before Adolf approached her with a grumpy look. "You too will sleep eternally! And continue to dream of your sister!" he scowled. Fumiko was horrified and covered her mouth with her hands out of fear.

"Of course. Before you go to sleep. It's about time I silence the rest of you here for knowing too much" said Adolf before pointing the gun at Asuna and the rest, which startled them, causing Silica to hide behind Sinon while the rest were speechless and powerless to do anything.

Suddenly, the priest heard some strange sounds, which made him wonder what cause it and where it came from. The girls noticed this as well. Then, two Stag Phones in their live mode came crashing into the room and charged at Adolf. One of them hits him in the face while the other one strikes his hand holding the Glock 18, causing him to drop the gun. Of course, the hit from the Memory Gadget scarred his face and hand, causing him to bleed. Plus, the attacks made him back off from the girls and Fumiko. Everyone else soon noticed two males entered the room, which made them felt at ease. They were Kirito and Hiro, who came to rescue them.

"That is as far as you go!" declared Kirito. "We won't let you do as you please any longer!" Hiro added. At the same time, the coffin where Ayumu was dropped got opened, which she done it by herself somehow and saw the duo as well. "Onii-chan, Kirito-kun!" she cried excitedly.

Noticing the boys' presence, the priest glared at them. "You bastards!" Adolf growled. "The Association of Darkness and Silence Chairman, Adolf Osamu. No... Death Dopant" said Kirito as he pointed his hand towards the priest. "I'll make you pay for what you did last time. Prepared yourself!" declared Hiro. Around this time, Ayumu managed to get out and regroup with Asuna and the others.

"Darn you! I'll show you what it means to defy me that has the power over life and death!" Adolf proclaimed before taking out an Orange Gaia Memory with the initial D. Then, without the Memory making an announcement, the priest inserts it on his left wrist, which has the Living Connector Port. Afterwards, he started laughing wickedly as his body transformed. Though, instead of his body changed form, he disappeared as the process made him cloudy.

Everyone glanced around, wondering where he went and be on their guard. As soon as Adolf vanished, someone else appeared behind one of the opened coffins and closes it. That someone was Asaka Fuuto, who sudden appearance surprises everyone. "I won't hold back this time, Hiro" he declared.

"Otou-san..." muttered Ayumu. "That man is... Asaka Fuuto?" guessed Silica, seeing how Ayumu addresses that man as her father. "Boss..." mumbled Hiro, somehow confused from this.

"This man is someone you could never defy. What will you do?" Death's voice echoed in the room before chuckling. At that time, Asaka Fuuto had his Lost Driver appeared on his waist and took out the Skull Memory in his right hand with the white fedora on his other hand, readying to transform. "Henshin..." he muttered and insert the Skull Memory before pushing the slot to the right. **"Skull"**

Asaka Fuuto then transformed into Kamen Rider Skull before putting his fedora on. The skeletal Kamen Rider then had his attention towards Fumiko, who was standing alone and away from Asuna and the others.

Hiro noticed this and quickly rushed to her side, putting a protective arm to defend her. Afterwards, Skull then leapt to where the bluenette and his client were as he approached them. "Everyone... stand back..." Kirito whispered, ordering Asuna and the others, including Ayumu to stay away when Skull came down.

"Hiro. You have no right to be here" said. "Wait, Boss! This woman is my client!" Hiro argued, which does not make the skeletal Kamen Rider flinched even a bit. "So, what?" Fuuto questioned. "Are you going to defy me again? Do you want to kill me again?" he added.

The bluenette was silenced upon hearing this as his thoughts of guilt from the past start to hit him mentally. "Onii-chan! Don't listen!" cried Ayumu, somehow suggesting her brother not to trust the Asaka Fuuto in front of him. "Hiro-kun-" Asuna tried to say something but Kirito stopped her with his arms. She noticed this and soon saw her boyfriend responded by shaking his head. Asuna immediately understood what Kirito meant by this. Even the other girls understood too. This is a matter between the Oozora Siblings, specifically for Hiro and they should not interfere. The bluenette has to make the decision himself.

Kirito and the rest then looked again to where Hiro was. At that time, Skull was coercing the bluenette by words to make the latter stop interfering. "Move, Hiro!" Fuuto commanded with an angry tone.

At that time, Hiro was still recalling the memories he had with his late mentor, especially the events where Fuuto met his end. Remembering how painful and sad those times were made him hesitated. To Hiro, that was his greatest failure when he was under Fuuto's wing. His mistakes lead to someone's death, which is why he does hesitate to act now. Kirito and the others were worried about him in this matter. They wondered if he would give in to the guilts of his own mistakes.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Hiro does something that they did not expected. The bluenette as he roared, suddenly clenched his left hand into fist and punched Skull on the face, pushing the latter away by a few feet. Because of that, his left hand started to bleed from inside his fist.

"Sorry... I can't do that. I will fight for my client. Even if my life is at stakes, I will honour your teachings. If you yourself try to interfere... I will still fight. Because the real you... continue to live on within my heart!" Hiro declared with resolve and determination, which surprises everyone, including Fumiko.

The grim reaper, who apparently hid in the shadows was shocked at this unexpected sudden turn of event. Hiro was supposed to be vulnerable to Asaka Fuuto and could not resist him. However, it seems that the bluenette was able to overcome this. "Impossible! Just what are you?!" Death questioned, whose voice echoed in the room.

"I... No..." Hiro muttered before looking to where Kirito and his friends were along with Ayumu, smiling at them. "Ayumu and I are... the mementos of Asaka Fuuto" he said and looked forward. Kirito smiled when hearing this, which Asuna and the rest also responded the same way. "And... Along with my allies, something new was born. That is... the two in one detective and... a Kamen Rider!" Hiro proclaimed before he took out the Cyclone Memory with his bloody hand and pressed it. **"Cyclone"**

"Let's go, Kirito!" Hiro announced, calling his partner to join in. "Yeah!" Kirito agreed, putting on the Double Driver on his waist and takes out the Joker Memory with his right hand before pressing it. **"Joker"**

The black swordsman approaches and stood by Hiro's left side. The girls, including Ayumu smiled when they saw this. Hiro had finally come to his senses. "Henshin!" Kirito and Hiro yelled simultaneously while pointing their Gaia Memory to the left and right respectively. Then, Hiro started by inserting the Cyclone Memory to the right slot, which then transferred digitally to Kirito's right slot. The black swordsman pushed the green Gaia Memory properly before inserting the Joker Memory to the left slot. Afterwards, he spread the Double Driver into a W-shape. **"Cyclone Joker"**

Kirito's body transformed into the green-black Kamen Rider while Hiro's body collapsed to the floor as his mind rides the Cyclone Memory to the former. The transformation forces Skull and Fumiko to cover their eyes as it was too much for their eyes to see in close range.

When Skull look back, he saw that it was another person who transformed into Kamen Rider W, which is unexpected. Cyclone Joker then charged towards the skeletal Kamen Rider as the latter did the same. The green-black Kamen Rider gave a right kick to Skull's waist before the latter strikes with a right punch. Cyclone Joker take the attack but then grabbed the said fist and pulled Skull towards the wall, breaking it as they headed outside. The reason for this was to change the battle venue as the room is too cramped. On top of that, Ayumu and the others were there too, which battling with them around will risked their lives.

Fumiko was speechless about what just happened. She did not even get the idea of the whole thing, especially about Hiro and Kirito being Kamen Rider W. Though, she soon noticed on her right, Ayumu was lying down on top of her brother's body that was repositioned so that she can lift him. "Fumiko-san, hide!" she ordered before single handily carried her brother's body on her back for a piggyback ride and soon approaches Asuna and the others.

"Everyone. Take care of Fumiko-san and contact the police" Ayumu ordered. "Okay" agreed Sinon. "What will you do, Ayumu?" asked Suguha. "I'm going to check out the truth of the enemy myself" Ayumu answered. "All right. Be careful" warned Silica. Soon, everyone splits up to do their work. Asuna and the rest take care of Fumiko and contact the police while Ayumu herself carried Hiro's body as she heads to where Kamen Rider W was to discover the truth of this case.

* * *

Simultaneously, at the outside, three familiar figures are approaching the church. They are Junnosuke, Sara and Hermione from the Elisabeth family. The three of them had equipped the Memory Driver on their waist as they took out their respective Gaia Memory. "Taboo" "Nasca" "Clay Doll" the said trio then insert the Memories into the slot and they transformed into Dopants.

* * *

Outside the church, Kamen Rider W and Skull battles against each other. Unlike last time, Cyclone Joker got the lead in this fight, who fought aggressively. Of course, it is because Kirito allows Hiro to take control.

After getting the enemy out from the church, Cyclone Joker delivered a strong right punch, sending Skull away. Then, the green-black Kamen Rider did another punch from his other hand which ended up the same way. Lastly, Cyclone Joker jumped and performed a drop kick, sending Skull away further and the latter falls to the floor.

Hiro. Don't you care what happen to me?!" questioned Skull desperately. However, Hiro did not flinch from this. Instead, he takes out the Cyclone Memory to do a Memory Change while taking out Heat Memory before initiating it. **"Heat" "Heat Joker"**

After changing to Heat Joker, the red-black Kamen Rider charged up his right fist with flame. Then, he jumped and do a flying punch on Skull, sending him flying to some distance. A few seconds after the skeletal Kamen Rider reverted to the true culprit, Adolf Osamu. From this act, it seems he was impersonating as Asaka Fuuto. It is not only Kamen Rider W that witnessed this scene, even Ayumu who just came out from the church while piggybacking Hiro's body noticed as well.

The priest then quickly retrieved his Gaia Memory that was dropped from the attack. However, instead of using his hand, he uses his mouth to insert the Gaia Memory into his left wrist. "Dummy"

The moment he inserted the Memory, the transformation was distorted as its transients into not only Death Dopant but Kamen Rider Skull, Asaka Fuuto and Yano Emiko as well. The distortion last about a few seconds before it stops at Death Dopant. Of course, Kirito was rather surprised to see this, including Ayumu who was slowly approaching from behind Kamen Rider W too.

"What?! Dummy?!" Kirito muttered, somehow confused. "I knew it… His memory is not Death. It's the D in Dummy" said Hiro, which made Kirito confused. "What do you mean, Hiro?" the black swordsman asked.

"Before we arrived here, I had doubts whether the name of his Gaia Memory was really Death, so I did lookup on that. Death Gaia Memory does not grant the ability to revive the dead. To be specific, it can only affect the victims mentally and whatever happens only limited to one target. It could never hurt them physically and anyone around could not see what the victims saw in their eyes. But, the fact that he managed to injure me physically and even everyone can see what I see bothers me. Then, when I think back about it, if everyone can see and be deceived, it might be an imposter that can completely imitate someone and fooled our five senses. From this nature of this case, he probably researched the identity of the people critical from the victims' past trauma and is able to mimic almost everything, including their personalities and appearance. I try another lookup from that perspective and come up with the conclusion that the Gaia Memory's name was Dummy. His appearance as Death Dopant was only a front for his whole scheme. That is not his real form" explained Hiro. "I see… If that's the case, let's tear off that disguise!" declared Kirito, taking out the Trigger Memory. **"Trigger" "Heat Trigger"**

Kamen Rider W switched to Heat Trigger form and uses the Trigger Magnum, firing fiery a few fiery shots at Death, who tried to flee. One of the shots hit him, burning the disguise away and revealed his true form as Dummy.

Dummy had completely grey body with scribbles. It looks rather empty, like that of an effigy with very lame appearance. Kirito and Ayumu were rather surprised when they saw the Dopant's true form as an imitator. Even the culprit himself could not believe that he reverted from all kinds of imitations to Dummy.

"That's his true form?! Ugh! Talk about shoddy!" Ayumu commented disgustingly. "Hey! Hey! All this stupid ruckus of dead people loitering around was all because of this single charlatan?!" grumbled Kirito, somehow annoyed about what he discovered.

"That's right!" confirmed Dummy as he temporarily pointed his finger towards the red-blue Kamen Rider. "I have the ability to have any talent! I lure the bigwigs in town with their loved ones' death, then I become them! I was able to enjoy many gorgeous lifestyles..." he started rambling and boasting about what he did. Though, the imitation Dopant did not pay attention to his surroundings. As he started rambling nonsense, Ayumu got rather annoyed and dropped her brother's body onto the grass to approached Dummy. She took out a green slipper, which wrote 'Cheap Imitation' on it and angrily slapped the imitation Dopant on his head, surprising him when he was rambling.

Of course, Hiro who remembered that Ayumu was supposed to be taking care of his body realised she just abandoned it and looked around, only to saw his body on the grass. He was rather confused and at the same time worried because there might be insects that will come to bite his lifeless body, thinking it is a corpse. "Hey... Ayumu... My body..." he muttered but it seems his little sister was not in the mood to care about his body.

Ayumu was rather annoyed at the fact that Adolf mimicked her father and caused misunderstanding. Of course, that includes with toying around with people by impersonating someone. "What a scumbag! You two, get him!" Ayumu growled and ordered Kamen Rider W to teach this criminal a lesson for his crimes.

Although Hiro was still worried about his body on the grass, Heat Trigger comes forward, readying to fight. "That goes without saying! Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito declared as the red-blue Kamen Rider pointed his hand towards Dummy before firing a few fiery pellets at the imitation Dopant, sending him flying.

Heat Trigger comes closer, aiming the magnum towards Dummy, readying to finish him off. Suddenly, a bunch of energy balls came out of nowhere, hitting the red-blue Kamen Rider and caught him off guard before falling on the ground.

Dummy was surprised about this and looked behind him. The ones responsible for the attack were Taboo, Nasca and Clay Doll and they came forward in front of the imitation Dopant. Even Kamen Rider W were surprised with their presence. "These guys are the Commander?!" Kirito gasped. "What are they doing here?!"

When noticing the Commanders, Ayumu quickly grabbed her brother's body and went into hiding for safety.

"Oh, you people are..." Adolf muttered in awe, recognising those Dopants being the Commanders. "We can probably use your ability so that is our special reason for saving you" said Clay Doll. "Be grateful" claimed Nasca. "It's time to settle this, Kamen Rider" declared Dopant.

"This is bad... We got to deal with these Commanders too?!" thought Kirito worriedly. "It's okay... We can do it. Use Heat Metal" assured Hiro as he suggested. "Okay" Kirito agreed and stood. Then, he took out the Metal Memory, pressing it and perform Memory Change. **"Metal" "Heat Metal"**

As soon as Kamen Rider W goes into Heat Metal, the Commanders charged towards him. The red-grey Kamen Rider take out his rod and battles them. Nasca and Clay Doll attacked in close range, attempting to hit Heat Metal with their sword and fist respectively. As for Taboo, she provided support by launching energy balls. Regardless of the disadvantage in number, the red-grey Kamen Rider managed to fend off their attacks. As Heat Metal deflect one of the energy balls from Taboo, one of them got sent to Dummy's direction, which surprises him, and he resorted to flee.

While fending off the Commanders' attack, the red-grey Kamen Rider noticed the imitation Dopant attempt to escape and quickly back off for a bit from the Commanders. "Trying to run?!" barked Kirito as Heat Metal takes out the Metal Memory and load it into the Metal Shaft. **"Metal. Maximum Drive"**

Both of the rod's ends started to blaze with flames like two-sided lighter and charged up for a while. Simultaneously, the Commanders are trying to use long range attack as well. "Metal Branding!" Kirito and Hiro yelled before Heat Metal swung a wave of fire towards the Commanders as they attacked with energy balls.

The fire waves managed to fend off those energy balls, hitting the Commanders and forces them to back off. Of course, the finisher was even able to reach up to Dummy, sending him flying towards the main road. However, despite using the Memory Break, none of the Dopants, including Dummy got reverted to their human form. "What a tough one. We weren't able to do a Memory Break" muttered Hiro before Heat Metal give chase.

Dummy stood up and noticed a truck parked nearby him. "That's it!" he cried and then leaped before transforming into a wheel. Afterwards, he started rolling away and flee from the scene. The Commanders noticed this and became frustrated. "That ingrate! He ran away!" whined Clay Doll.

As for Heat Metal, they are on their way to pursue him. "He's not getting away! We'll chase him to the end of the Earth!" declared Kirito as he takes out the Stag Phone and entered a code to summon RevolGarry and Hard-Boilder. In less than a few minutes, the said vehicles arrived, and Kamen Rider W goes to Cyclone Joker form before riding the motorcycle. The green-black Kamen Rider sprint ahead with Hard-Boilder, trying to catch up with Dummy.

* * *

About 10 minutes later, the chase of Dummy reached up to the outskirts of Amanohara, specifically to the mountain.

Cyclone Joker on Hard-Boilder is steadily following as Dummy imitating a tyre goes around in circle. Though, it looks like a wild goose chase, the green-black Kamen Rider predicted this and had RevolGarry came from the front. The big vehicle made Dummy caught off by surprise before it knocks the imitating tyre away with a spin. Afterwards, Cyclone Joker on the bike turned around and launched some shooting from Hard-Boilder. Those shots hit the tyre hard and forced him to revert as Dummy. Cyclone Joker halted the bike along with RevolGarry when the imitation Dopant fell to the floor from being sent flying.

It's over... Adolf Osamu. You have lost" declared Hiro. However, Dummy began to rise again, facing the green-black Kamen Rider. "Not yet... I will show you my true power!" declared Adolf before his body changes form. However, unlike his previous imitations, this one is completely different than Death Dopant or Kamen Rider Skull. It is quite humongous in size and what he transformed is a monster. Kirito was petrified when he saw what Dummy imitated as. It was a huge monster that is made of tough and sharp bones. The length was that identical to a centipede but a very large in size. The skull was elongated, and it has shining red eyes. The bones and ribs it possessed are sharp as scythes, which also works as a weapon for the monster. As far as Kirito remembers, this monster is the 75th floor boss in the original Aincrad, which is named as _'The Skull Reaper'_.

That is the monster in 3rd quarter of Aincrad, which caused high casualties during the Boss Raid and lead the Clearing Group into despair of continuing to clear the game. "Impossible?! He changed into Skull Reaper?! But how?!" gasped Kirito in horror. "That guy... he probably scanned your memories from his abilities as Dummy and choose this form. While you might want to forget it, there is no doubt this monster did trouble you in the past" explained Hiro. "Whatever you turned into, we will defeat you! Let's go!" declared Kirito.

Cyclone Joker revved up the gear and had Hard-Boilder charged towards the giant skeletal centipede. The green-black Kamen Rider unleashed the launchers on the bike, which hit fake Skull Reaper, but it did not cause much damage.

Instead, the giant skeletal centipede clattered while swiftly going away from the green-black Kamen Rider before striking towards him with the scythe. The attack does not directly hit but its shockwave was quite strong that it forces Cyclone Joker off the Hard-Boilder.

During this moment, Skull Reaper swung its massive tail towards the defenceless green-black Kamen Rider, sending him flying further. The giant skeletal centipede then charged towards Cyclone Joker, attempting to finish him in one blow from the scythe. Luckily, Hiro managed to act and uses the Stag Phone to have RevolGarry intercept the attack, thus saving them from being defeated and managed to land safely on the ground. Even so, the giant vehicle was being pushed by Skull Reaper as it tries to hold the fort.

"Darn it! For a fake, it is tougher than I thought. At this rate RevolGarry won't hold off for long" grumbled Kirito. "If only I could use a sword and Sword Skill..." he muttered and clenched his left fist, which the bluenette realised what the black swordsman wanted.

"I got an idea... but it's a bit of a gamble" Hiro suggested. "Really?" asked Kirito. "Yes" Hiro answered. Then, Cyclone Joker takes out the Stag Phone and entered 3 digits code. The entered number was 1-1-1. After pressing the OK button, something happened. A light came out from RevolGarry and approaches Cyclone Joker, who catches it. The light then takes shape when the green-blade Kamen Rider managed touch it. It revealed itself as a weapon, to be specific, a one-handed sword.

Kirito was surprised when he saw what he held onto. It is a sword. The sword had a black fuller and grip. The edge is gold in colour. It has a triangle shape guard in red. On the guard, there is an orange rain guard and golden button with a W button along with a Gaia Memory Slot. Lastly, it has a red pommel.

"This is... a sword?!" gasped Kirito. "Don't freak out too much. It's not your first time seeing one" Hiro stated. "But you... I thought you said being W requires no sword" argued Kirito. "Well... even if I say so it is not necessarily true. In battle, anything can happen, so I do need to consider for the unexpected. Apparently, that time is now" explained Hiro.

"All right. Let's use this to defeat him!" declared Kirito. "Hold it! I haven't finish explaining. To be honest, this weapon is still incomplete. Using Maximum might backfire on us. Unlike usual Maximum Drive, we won't be able to use another Maximum for a period of five minutes. And we would not be able to move for five seconds" explained Hiro.

"What?! Then what should we do?!" gasped Kirito. "That's why I said it's a bit of a gamble. Skull Reaper is fast enough as it is, if we do not finish this guy off, we'll be defeated for sure. It's sinks or swim. I am pretty sure one hit won't be enough to destroy this monster so try to land as many hits as you can when activating Maximum. This is where your experience in SAO comes in. Whatever sword skills that you remember, just use it. If you use Joker Memory in it, it is possible for you to create a pseudo sword for dual wielding" explained Hiro.

"Okay... so all I need to do was to hit him as much as I can, right?" Kirito asked for verification. "Yes. I'm counting on you. I'm in your hands" said Hiro. "All right let's go!" Kirito declared. Cyclone Joker readied the black-gold sword in hand, readying to attack. He then takes out the Joker Memory and insert it into the slot inside the sword. **"Joker. Maximum Drive"**

The sword started to glow into purple and Cyclone Joker presses the button on the rain guard. Another sword appeared on Joker's left hand and it looks almost identical to the sword he was currently holding but glows in red.

At that moment, RevolGarry started to lose grip before Skull Reaper sent the giant vehicle flying. During this moment, Cyclone Joker, while roaring charged towards the giant skeletal centipede with both swords in hands.

Upon managing to get close, the green-black Kamen Rider unleashes as many slashes as possible on Skull Reaper. As far as the number of hits counted, it was about a 27 combo, which Kirito counted when aggressively attacking.

After finishing the attack, Cyclone Joker backs off from the giant skeletal centipede, panting heavily. "Joker... Eclipse..." Kirito muttered, naming the finisher or sword skill he unleashed.

The Skull Reaper remained static for a bit after the attack. No dent or whatsoever appeared on it, which surprises the green-black Kamen Rider. "It can't be... That attack didn't work?" thought Kirito worriedly while Hiro remained silent, knowing that he cannot give an answer to that because he himself was uncertain.

In a few seconds later, the giant skeletal centipede started wailing before it exploded into dust and flames, to their surprise. The finisher was a success. Adolf soon appeared from the aftermath with swollen eyes and the Dummy Memory was ejected from his body before it shattered into pieces because of the Memory Break done. The said culprit soon fell into unconsciousness from the impact of Memory Break on him.

Cyclone Joker sighed in relief from this and the sword returned to its normal state, with the pseudo sword vanishing. "Whew... I thought we were goner by now..." muttered Hiro. "Well, it works out somehow" said Kirito. "You're right..." agreed Hiro. "Come to think of it, have you decided the name of this sword?" asked Kirito. "No. Not yet" answered Hiro. "What's wrong? Did you have any good idea what to name this sword?" he asked. "Yeah... I thought of calling this sword, _Victory Strider_. To put it simply, you can say it is a progress to victory" suggested Kirito. "Not bad. I like it" agreed Hiro.

* * *

 _(Kirito speaking)_

 _Afterwards, we brought Adolf Osamu back to the church, where the cops are waiting. The priest who was impersonating others got arrested. However, the lives of the victims who he took away will not return. We all were called along with Fumiko-san to give statements about this case. To be honest, this kind of thing is not supposed to happen, and it only sadden others. We thought Fumiko-san would be disappointed but..._

It was already evening. Kirito and the others had just come out from the police station. Even the Oozora siblings follow suit with them. "Wow, that was tiring. Let's just return to the office. I felt hungry" Kirito said. "Geez, all Kirito cares about is food. Are you a glutton?" snarked Sinon. "No, I'm not!" retorted Kirito. "Hiro-san!" a familiar female voice called out, which got everyone's attention. They all saw that it was from Yano Fumiko. "What's wrong?" asked Hiro. "I... wanted to express my gratitude" answered Fumiko. "For what?" asked Hiro, confused about what she is implying. "Ever since Onee-chan passed away, I felt so sad. I was so dependent on her that I could not accept that she is no more. That's why I was so obsessed with the culprit's offer to grant my wish to be with her. But I realised that I was wrong. No matter how far Onee-chan is, as long as I remember her, she still lives in my heart and I need to live for Onee-chan's sake. If I give up now, Onee-chan will be disappointed with me. That is what you taught me. Thank you" thanked Fumiko after explaining. "Good luck. Things can be rough for everyone in times but... as long as you believe in yourself, everything is going to work out fine" Hiro told her. Kirito and the rest smiled when seeing this scene and no words were needed to add in.

* * *

Later that night, at the Asaka Detective Agency...

Everyone gathered around after having their dinner. Of course, as promised, Hiro told Ayumu everything that occurred on Begins Night, which involved her father. Despite how bitter that truth was, Ayumu deserved to know it.

"I see... so that's what happened" said Ayumu after hearing the whole story from her big brother. "Yes... Sorry... for everything" Hiro apologised. "No need for that. I am just glad enough I can learn about Otou-san. Thank you, Onii-chan" thanked Ayumu.

"Still, it bothers me. What kind of a father is Asaka Fuuto for leaving his daughter behind? asked Lisbeth. "Lis! Are you implying Ayumu-chan's father is a horrible person?!" Asuna scolded for taking so casually without considering Ayumu's feelings. "No... not like that. Sorry Ayumu" Lisbeth apologised. "Don't mind" assured Ayumu. "I was wondering about that myself. To be honest, I don't understand why" she explained. "That is a mystery..." Suguha concluded.

"This is just my guess, but Fuuto-san must have been fighting that Gaia Memory Organisation for years. If there is a reason why he can't return to Ayumu, it should be because of this" suggested Kirito. "Indeed. That is a possibility" Silica agreed. "Hey, Hiro. You were with Fuuto-san. Don't you know something about this?" asked Sinon.

There was a short silence afterwards before the bluenette decides to break it. "I know..." muttered Hiro, which surprises everyone, including Ayumu. You know?!" gasped Lisbeth. "To be honest, without the power from the Planetary Bookshelves, I would not be able to find out about it. But then thinking again, perhaps there is a reason why people call ignorance is a bliss" explained Hiro. "Then, you know why Otou-san did not come to meet me even after Okaa-san passed away?" asked Ayumu.

"Yes..." Hiro verified. "But before I continue, answer this question, Ayumu. Are you willing to learn about your father's past no matter what it is?" he asked. That question left everyone stunned and silenced from it.

* * *

 **If you notice in the prologue, there will be some errors in the writing and so on. But mind you, I decide to let it be intentional instead of correcting the proper events because it was Hiro remembering it wrongly in his nightmare. To be specific, anyone can remember things wrongly when they deny the facts that really occurred, or they do not want to remember their horrible pasts. But, then again, the explanation in the prologue is not too far off the mark. There are some things that I retain from this and that. Those are important, and Hiro remembered it accurately.**


	10. Skull's Beginning

**(Summary from previous chapter, Begins Night)**

 _On 29th August 2060, Kirito and his friends are preparing to celebrate Ayumu's birthday at their dormitory. Hiro, Ayumu's brother was there as well, taking a nap, but becomes mentally exhausted from having a nightmare, which involved his late mentor. Ayumu soon contacted her brother and requested his assistance immediately because a client refused to believe her as the person in charge. Hiro went to the agency and together with Ayumu, learned that the client was Yano Fumiko, who requested the detectives to search for her sister Emiko, whom the public perceived had already deceased. Despite the uncertainty of the story, Hiro agreed with the request to search the truth. With everyone's help for their information and the sudden change with Fumiko's action, Hiro figured out that the whole chaos of the city with rumours of the dead coming alive was caused by a Dopant, who proclaimed himself as Death. Hiro turns into Fang Joker to fight it but immediately lose when the said Dopant summoned the former's late mentor as Kamen Rider Skull, causing his hesitancy in fighting. That night, as Hiro was still unconscious from the fight, Asuna and the rest demanded Kirito to come clean and explain what he kept secret from them. Kirito unwillingly revealed to everyone what he knew despite being promised by Hiro to keep quiet about it. Simultaneously, Hiro also recalled the past, which explains the truth regarding the death of Asaka Fuuto, how Hiro got the power of Planetary Bookshelves and become a Kamen Rider in his sleep, which is exactly the story that Kirito explains to his friends. Not long after Kirito finished explaining, Hiro regained consciousness. Upon knowing that everyone learned his secret, Hiro shamefully decided to leave the agency, with the intention of resigning as a detective and Kamen Rider. Regardless of the situation, Kirito and the others were determined to put a stop on the Dopant who caused all the ordeal to the victims. Ayumu insisted to join them as well. Despite their persuasion to have her out from this while reminding her about the truth of her father, Ayumu refused to listen and accept that truth unless it comes from Hiro directly. As the other girls were confused with Ayumu's behaviour, Kirito realised what Hiro's intention was when he looked at the torn fedora that was left hanging on the door to the garage. The next morning, Hiro went to the island where the incident of Begins Night took place, with some flowers as an offering for Fuuto's true grave. Then, he was greeted by Kirito, who anticipated the former's action. Kirito insisted Hiro to return but the latter refused, leading to the two into a brawl, in which the former won. Soon, Hiro received a call from his little sister and learnt she pursued Fumiko who was on the way to meet someone, supposedly the culprit. On top of that, she quoted the lines Hiro told her about clients being important to detectives, whom Hiro got from her late father and decides to follow that teaching. Ashamed of his own weakness and moved from his sister's words and actions, Hiro decided to join the investigation while promising Ayumu that he will tell her everything that he knew about her late father. After learning the truth from Planetary Bookshelves, Hiro and Kirito rushed to the church where Ayumu and the others were in the nick of time, stopping the culprit, who was the priest, Adolf Osamu from harming them. Adolf used his Gaia Memory on himself, which summoned Asaka Fuuto to fight against Hiro and the others. Despite having hesitancy, Hiro punched the Asaka Fuuto in front of him, believing that the real Asaka Fuuto lived forever in Hiro's heart. This time, Kirito transformed into Cyclone Joker, with Hiro taking control and battled against Kamen Rider Skull, managing to reveal the truth behind the façade. Adolf Osamu in fact used the Dummy Memory to become Dummy Dopant. Realising and frustrated that a mere scammer was behind the whole ordeal, Ayumu demanded Kamen Rider W to teach him a lesson, which they intended to do so. However, the fight was interrupted by the enemy commanders. Hiro and Kirito fought back as Heat Metal and uses Metal Branding, which forced Dummy to escape and fend off the commanders. Kamen Rider W give chase and despite Dummy overwhelmed them by impersonating as Skull Reaper, a boss in SAO, managed to beat Dummy. After undergoing questioning by the police, Yano Fumiko approached Hiro, expressing her gratitude and determination to keep on living, which the latter supported the idea. That night at the agency, Hiro tell Ayumu everything about Begins Night, which this time, she properly listens and accept the truth. Though, the other girls questioned about Ayumu's father lack of commitment for his responsibilities as a parent, which raise curiosity in them, including Ayumu herself to know why. Sinon suspected the reason must be from the fight against the Gaia Memories organization and asked Hiro if he knew anything about this, which he revealed and asked Ayumu if she was willing to learn that truth._

* * *

 **30th August 2060, Monday**

"But before I continue, answer this question, Ayumu. Are you willing to learn about your father's past no matter what it is?" he asked. That question left everyone stunned and silenced from it.

"Hold it! What do you mean by that?! Isn't it natural for Ayumu to learn as much as possible about her own father?!" questioned Lisbeth annoyingly. "That's right. If you told Onii-chan everything. Ayumu deserved to know about it too" Suguha stated. "No. Hiro did not tell me everything. All he told me about was only Begins Night" explained Kirito.

"Then why?" asked Asuna. "As you all know, whether as a detective or human being, we all seek to learn the truth of things regarding we desired to study about. Truths come in all kinds of emotional expressions. Depending on the situation, some truths are best kept hidden to prevent hurting others emotionally and caused any unwanted consequences. In any case, the truth I discovered about Boss in 10 years ago was not very pleasant to Boss himself. I had no doubt Ayumu would be affected emotionally from learning this. That's why I ask her whether she is willing to learn about it or not? If she does not want to know, I will keep quiet. If she's not ready to hear it, I will wait as long as it takes. And I even promised myself that as long as Ayumu herself did not want to learn about it, no one else would need to know. It involves her father and Ayumu herself after all" explained Hiro.

"Even I got involved?" echoed Ayumu. "That's right. That is why I want you to decide. If you want to keep this between us siblings, I will honour your choice. I won't tell Kirito and the others about it regardless how much they pleaded me to tell them. If you want them to learn it together with you, that is your choice. Your decision to learn this truth or not is my top priority. Also, I do have to warn you that learning bitter truths might not make any difference whether you learn them alone or as a group. So, what will it be? Do you want to learn your father's past? Do you prefer to learn it alone or with everyone here?" Hiro offered choices for his little sister.

The atmosphere became quiet from this for about 10 minutes. It is a simple question but answering it would be difficult, depending on the person being asked. Most people do care about their own privacy because it is their right. On the other hand, some people do not mind about it. After 10 minutes of waiting, Ayumu muttered, "Together..."

Kirito and his friends were surprised from hearing this. "Are you sure, Ayumu?" Sinon asked worriedly. "Don't force yourself. We don't mind if you do not want us to hear the truth about your father" explained Silica. "You have the right to preserve your own privacy" stated Suguha.

"Do not worry. I have no problem with it" said Ayumu. "And I trust everyone" she stated. "Ayumu..." muttered Suguha. "With that being said, it's like that, Onii-chan" Ayumu told her brother, who in a few seconds later gave a nod. "Very well" Hiro agreed.

"Before I explain..." he said and went to the worktable, opened up the large drawer and took out a box. Afterwards, he opened the box and passed over its content to everyone. Kirito was a bit confused. What he got was a black headset with a sunglass like visor attached to it. The same goes with everyone else.

"What is this thing?" asked Suguha. "I called this Gaia History Simulator. With this, you can view the events that occurred in the past. Seeing is believing, so for the past involving solely on Boss, it is better for us to see it for ourselves rather than just me explaining it" explained Hiro.

"Why didn't you use this before to explain about Begins Night event?" asked Lisbeth. "If I can, I would but this item requires complex programming and lot of time. On top of that, I was only able to complete it recently because of Yui who told me how the Augma functions in your time. In any case, I already programmed it for the event that happened 10 years ago so if I were to change the events that you guys wanted to witness on, it would require me about a month to do so" explained Hiro further.

Afterwards, Kirito and the rest get themselves to either sit or lie down comfortably after wearing the Gaia History Simulator. Of course, Hiro did guide Ayumu how to wear it and had her lie down on the bed before the former went to sit at the worktable and prepared for himself too. With everyone now ready and their eyes shut, it is just a matter of countdown for them all to start simultaneously. "All right. On the countdown to zero, we're going into Full Dive around the same time" the bluenette announced. "Ready? Three...! Two...! One...! Zero!" he counted out slowly and loudly for everyone to hear. "Link Start!" everyone yelled.

* * *

 **29th August 2050, Monday**

In a blink of an eye, a prism of colours with white background came shining into everyone's view before everything went pitched black. In a few seconds later, the surrounding change and everyone found themselves inside the Asaka Detective Agency. This time, all of them are standing rather than in relax position or such from before.

Since it is been a while for Kirito and the rest and also the first time Ayumu, they all ended up looking around them along with themselves, trying to move their astral body. "Is everyone present?" Hiro asked. "Yeah" Kirito answered. "Still, why are we still inside the agency? It does not look like we gone anywhere" asked Lisbeth sceptically. "Are you really sure? Look around yourself carefully. It's not the same agency as you saw in the present day" Hiro said.

Afterwards, they look around themselves and noticed something. While it is indeed Asaka Detective Agency, the furniture arrangement is different from the one in present time. There were cupboards near the entrance, which is behind the couch for clients to sit down. Those were not there in present time. Of course, apart from the furniture arrangement and such, they noticed two men, each at different worktable.

One of them was indeed Asaka Fuuto and he was trying to roast some coffee beans in a filter over a portable stove for him to brew later on. The other man a bit skinny, having purple eyes and number 2 haircut. Though he hardly has any hair, it seems to be yellow in colour. He wore round glasses, light purple shirt with white polka dots tie. He also wore brown pants and had dark blue suspenders hanging on his shirt to the pants.

"That other man, who is he?" asked Lisbeth. "Boss's partner, Kagemura Retsu" answered Hiro. "Partner?" echoed Silica. "Wait a second, when you told me about Begins Night, Asaka Fuuto-san was always working alone before you were under his supervision?" asked Kirito curiously, confused about the fact the bluenette told earlier and just now.

"Oh, that... Well. I supposed things that I said might not necessarily be true but Boss did say that he was working solo even before I arrived. In any case, to simplify how their roles are like, Boss is like this Kirito here, well known in their profession and popular with the ladies even after he was married and had a daughter. As for Retsu, his role was like me, using books, newspapers, magazines and other reading mediums to untangle the truth" explained Hiro. "Well, rather than just arguing the whole thing, let's just watch this for now" suggested Sinon.

As Fuuto was roasting the coffee beans over the stove, Retsu was at his own table, picking up a book from inside his bag to read. Then the bald guy noticed his partner doing the roasting and just grin amusingly. "Fuuto, just stop it" said Retsu. The hard-boiled detective just glance at his partner with a grin as well but his answer was, "I refused"

While Fuuto was distracted and lowered the filter, the beans that he roasted started to burn and produced smoke, which he soon noticed. The hard-boiled detective was surprised and quickly turned off the stove while Retsu was forced to cover his nose while dispelling the smokes with arms because it smells terrible. The coffee beans that Fuuto used are not good for brewing anymore so he had to throw them in the waste bin. "Guess I'll have to start over again" he said while disposing the beans, which some of its dusts fell onto the floor.

Of course, Retsu was rather unpleasant with his partner for using such a traditional and manual method to make coffee which is tedious when other options are available and gets up from his seat before grabbing a small folded paper. "Geez! Stop being stubborn! Why don't you use this method I found out for you?" suggested Retsu as he approached Fuuto before doing a finger snap and lend the paper to him. "You'll get it in one try" he assured. That paper had the title, 'How to make good coffee, straightforward method', which the hard-boiled detective noticed and took it with a grumpy look.

"Retsu, you might be the ultimate partner, but I don't want your help with coffee! Because!" Fuuto scolded and slammed the paper given on his table as his partner crouched to pick up the remains of the coffee on the floor and put them in the waste bin. " _'Coffee is my partner for life before I met you'_ " Retsu quoted when he picked the waste bin and stand to look at Fuuto. "That's what you wanted to say, right? I know it" he claimed and then went to disposed of the trash while Fuuto grumpily glared at the former for saying that.

As for Kirito and the others, they all then glared at Hiro with a frown face. "Oh, I really wonder where you got the line about _'Coffee is my partner for life before I met you' when you said that to me_ " said Kirito with sarcasm. "It turns out you used the line by Ayumu's father word by word" Lisbeth pointed out. "Onii-chan's is always like this, coating his detective image with cool lines from Otou-san. I bet he hardly had any cool lines of his own" Ayumu added. "No wonder your coffee sucks" Sinon stated bluntly.

The bluenette turned his face away from embarrassment because what they say were the truth. "Well, those stuffs aside... let's just continue watching" suggested Hiro, trying to get away with the subject, which only caused Kirito to glare at him further for it.

As Retsu carries the waste bin to dispose of the trash, he went to the door leading to the garage, which Fuuto noticed and stopped him when he touched one of the knobs. "Retsu! I always tell you not to touch that door or ghost will come out!" warned Fuuto.

After the hard-boiled detective said that, the scene around Kirito and the others, temporarily shifted to the garage. It is almost identical with the garage that Asaka Detective Agency had in the present day but emptier and had no metal platforms with pores covering the almost the whole place yet. In the middle of the room, a big vehicle was there. It was all black and grey, had a big Skull design with six wheels, with the two on the back being larger than the front four.

It also has multiple thrusters and had a front wing like a formula one racing car. This giant vehicle is Skull Garry, the previous form of the giant vehicle Kamen Rider Double frequently used before it was remodelled into the form in present time, RevolGarry.

Upon noticing the changing scene and hearing the ghost part from Fuuto, Asuna suddenly screamed and hide behind Kirito when she saw Skull Garry. Of course, the other girls freaked out from seeing the giant vehicle's scary design. "G-Ghost...?! That thing is a ghost...?!" Asuna stuttered while clinging onto Kirito out of fear. "Calm down. That thing is RevolGarry previous form before being remodelled. It is called Skull Garry" explained Hiro, which managed to calm them down. Afterwards, the scene shifted back to when Fuuto warned Retsu not to enter the garage.

The partner of the hard-boiled detective backs off his hands from the knob and whistled before going out the office to dispose the waste. After a few minutes, he returned back to the office. It was around this time, the antique rotary dial phone at Fuuto's table suddenly rang, which got the detectives' attention.

The partner of the hard-boiled detective backs off his hands from the knob and whistled before going out the office to dispose the waste. After a few minutes, he returned back to the office.

"Come to think of it, that woman has not come around here lately" Retsu mentioned after entering the office and placed back the empty waste bin by Fuuto's table. "Oh, you mean Kai Amano, the famous opera singer with the stage name, Athena, right?" guessed Fuuto as he sat at his table. "Yeah. I wonder what's wrong?" asked Retsu curiously.

"Who knows, perhaps she was bothered by some stalkers who wanted her affection. She's famous after all. I wouldn't be surprised about it" deduced Fuuto. "I bet some ugly mind guy among her fans, that secret admirer were the ones doing it. Because they don't look attractive, they tend to do unnecessary things like stalking her just to satisfy their desire" suggested Retsu.

"It's possible that same stalker was a close acquaintance of her" countered Fuuto, which the statement offended Retsu. "Hey, hey. You're not suggesting we are possible suspects too, aren't you?" asked Retsu.

"I'm saying it is a possibility. After all, most of the crimes that involved with stalkers are done by people closely related to the victims, not mere strangers. I'm not surprised if she is wary of us" explained Fuuto.

It was around this time, the antique rotary dial phone at Fuuto's table suddenly rang, which got the detectives' attention and the hard-boiled detective answered it. "It's me" greeted Fuuto.

"I did not hear anything about this, Fuuto!" a female voice complained. That person was Athena or Kai Amano, the said female singer mentioned by the two detectives a while ago. In appearance, she had wavy auburn hair at mid neck length and green eyes. Although she seems interracial, her nationality and appearance are mostly Japanese. The people in Amanohara City claimed that she is the most beautiful woman in the current era, as in the 2050s and still single. She wore a red dress with white high heels along with gold shell earrings. At the time being, she was in her dressing room, getting ready for her performance.

"You promised to be my bodyguard, right? Amanohara's singing princess and the shadow chief of the Asaka Detective Agency is in a big pinch, you know!" Athena claimed further. "Hahaha, speaking of the devil" Fuuto said to Retsu with sarcastic chuckle, referring that sentence to Athena. The partner of the hard-boiled detective rushed with a worried look. "Athena? Did something happen to her?" asked Retsu with a concerned look.

Without saying a word, Fuuto took a purple letter placed on the table with his left hand and gave it to Retsu. The spectacles detective looked at the given letter and saw a drawing of what it seems to be a spider. Then, he turned the letter around and saw the name of the sender, though it seems to be an alias rather than real name. "Kumo Otoko (Spider Man)?" Retsu muttered as he read the name written on the letter. "He's the enemy" Fuuto stated as he stood before tending back to the phone call. "We'll be there right away, Athena. Don't worry. You're like my important little sister to me" he said with assurance before ending the call.

On the other side where Athena was, she was not very happy at all after the call. "Fuuto, you idiot!" she insulted angrily as she slammed her right palm on the table. Then she looks at the mirror with a dejected expression. "Why do you have to treat me like a child? Will you learn to take a hint about a woman's feelings for spark?" she mumbled, implying that she has a thing for Fuuto.

Back at the agency, after ending the call with Athena, Fuuto and Retsu gets ready to leave, with the hard-boiled detective fetching his white fedora and coat. Retsu on the other hand takes his brown coat. The two of them then left the office and rode a car, with Retsu being the driver, started the engine and drive. The car that they used is a classic Porsche 911 with a pine green body.

On their way to the place where Athena is performing, Fuuto is putting the buttons on his sleeves. Retsu passed the hard-boiled detective a handout as he drove. Fuuto takes a look at the said handout and saw the title written on it as "How to become a bodyguard ~ _71_ tips ~". The hard-boiled detective takes a glance at one or two pages before looking at his partner with an unimpressed look. Retsu glanced back with a brief chuckle but Fuuto just throw the handout to the back seats, to the former's dismay. Then, it suddenly started raining, forcing the two to shut the car windows and Retsu flipping on the car's wiper to clear his vision for driving. Of course, the falling rain started to become heavier faster than expected so Retsu was forced to slow down due to poor visibility.

* * *

About 15 to 20 minutes later…

The detectives arrived at Amanohara City Hall 111, where Athena is going to perform her concert there and Retsu parked the car at the designated parking space. It is still raining so they hasted inside and because they did not carry any umbrella with them. At that time, Retsu had his brown coat in his hands and quickly wore them. Simultaneously, a suspicious looking woman is lying in wait, probably for the detectives from a corner of the building nearby the City Hall 111.

That woman had dark red eyes and black hair tied with bun style. She wore a pale pink sheath dress along with high heels of the same colour. She also had some makeups that gives people a creepy impression. This woman is Betty Vespertilio, a Gaia Memory dealer.

Upon noticing Fuuto and Retsu entered the concert venue, she decides to follow them. However, she bumps into a male thug wearing black clothing and had a muscular body on her way. "Hey! Watch where you're going, pal!" the thug berated. "Oh, I'm sorry" said Betty with an insincere tone. Then, she suddenly beats up the thug, breaking a few of his bones in the process and left him helpless on the floor. To add insult further, she steps on him with her high heels, causing the thug to yelp painfully from the pressure of her footwear before she left to enter City Hall 111.

A few minutes later…

Fuuto and Retsu arrived at the theatre where Athena is performing. At that time, the said singer was about to begin her performance. The song that she sang was titled 'Finally'. **(From movie Kamen Rider W and OOO featuring Skull: Movie Core).**

Fuuto and Retsu were at the terrace when Athena sang the song, silently admiring it with a smile. Fuuto takes off his hat and held it in his hands at that time. In the middle of the song, Retsu takes out the threat letter Fuuto gave him and started reading its content.

"To my beloved singing princess, Athena. Be sure to sing my requested song at your next stage. Depending on how you sing, for every point below 100, I will kill an audience member. Your knight, Kumo Otoko" Retsu read the content of that letter. Then the spectacled detective chuckled amusingly, finding the threat too illogical to happen. "This guy is nuts. Hey, Fuuto. Let's forget this" said Retsu before suggesting to his partner that they stop dealing with some fantasy like threat letter.

"I refused…" said Fuuto with a grin, which makes his partner look disbelief. "I've already made my decision" the hard-boiled detective claimed. "Be careful. There's plenty of suspicious guys around her" Retsu warned Fuuto as he goes around the pillar from the latter's front before staring at a certain person from across him.

There was a couple sitting at the premium seats and surrounded by bodyguards wearing black suits. The male one had brown eyes and black hair combed neatly. He wore a slightly shaded glasses and a black suit with black leather shoes. This person is Katsumi Goro, the President of Katsumi Entertainment, whom Athena work with. The woman next to him had long brown hair and grey eyes. She wore glasses with chains attached and a black dress with brown wedge sandals. This person is Katsumi Mako, Goro's wife.

"Especially that guy, Katsumi Goro" continued Retsu, referring to the said manager. "He is as well as her owner" he said. "I suppose I'll give my regards" Fuuto stated before he went to approach Katsumi Goro. Retsu tried to stop his partner but to no avail since Fuuto went too fast and the former's words could not reach him.

"Yo, President" greeted Fuuto. The bodyguards around Katsumi Goro were about to make their move to get the detective away from their president. However, the said president himself raised his right hand, signalling to his bodyguards to be on standby and let him handle Fuuto himself. The bodyguards did as they were told.

"So, you're that scruffy poor detective whom Athena hired? What business do you have with me?" Goro questioned. "I came here to protect her from villains" answered Fuuto. The president felt affronted by this sentence, since it is implying him as one of those bad guys and stood up. "If you want to act like her boyfriend, do it outside" Goro said offendedly. His wife quickly stood to stop him. "Dear, not her" Mako warned, reminding her husband that he should not start a fight, which will ruin his image to the people nearby. Simultaneously, Betty Vespertilio is eavesdropping the conversation from a table nearby while pretending to drink some cocktail.

Goro then proceeds to walk and pass the detective, ignoring him in the process. "Where are you going?" asked Mako. "To the bathroom" said Goro before he went to leave the venue and Betty also went ahead to do the same ahead of him. It was around this time Athena finished her song splendidly, which earned an around of applause from the audiences.

The cheers from the spectators got interrupted and became feeble when one of them, a female in the group that are watching from below the terrace suddenly screamed and stood up, as if something climb up on her and apparently trying to get rid of something. The other spectators at the same also follow suit as they apparently faced the same thing as that female spectator. Fuuto and the audiences on the terrace as well as Athena on the stage wondered what is going on and watched those spectators below them doing. It is revealed that there are red spiders crawling onto those spectators' clothing and a bunch of them are swarming on the floor as well. One of those affected spectators noticed something approaching from above the stage and pointed at it while yelling, "What is that?!"

Everyone's attention was brought to focused at a figure descending on some threads from above the stage with a creepy, guttural chuckling. It was a humanoid creature with red spider on its head, with the legs spreading out like hairs. The gender seems to be masculine and he has brownish yellow body with black torso, bloated bellybutton in yellow along with spider legs and nerves on it. This creature also had a pair of red legs and arms while the shoulders were also imprinted with red spiders. The left thigh, right arm and neck were covered with threads. The creature had a normal human hand on the right but the left one had its fingers longer like the spider legs. This is Spider Dopant, who proclaimed himself as Kumo Otoko (Spider Man).

"Don't move! Silence!" Spider ordered as he descended, which the spectators unwillingly abide to this demand. "Kumo Otoko..." muttered Fuuto as he glowered at the stalker who sent the threat letter to his client, Athena. The detective decides to be on standby rather than acting since Kumo Otoko had many hostages in his assets. Acting recklessly would put their lives unnecessarily in danger than it supposed to be.

"Splendid! Truly magnificent!" Spider complimented. "Now, my singing princess, let's see how many points you get… Oh yes, let's see how many will die~" he said and thrummed an imitation of drum roll before shooting threads from his left hand to the floor, near where Athena was. The singing idol backs off one step to avoid getting trap. However, what is more important was the score that Kumo Otoko decides to evaluate her.

Luckily, the score that he gave her was written _100_ points, meaning Athena managed to spare her audiences and the spiders that crawl up to them go away. "Looks like nobody has to die" proclaimed Spider before landing onto the stage. "Will you continue to sing, only for me?" he proposed to Athena, but she can tell that he wants to manipulate her for himself.

"Stop right there, you monster!" a familiar male voice yelled, which got the attention of Kumo Otoko and everyone in the hall. It was a small group of uniformed policemen, which one of them was Kagami Tetsuo. At this time, he had yet to be promoted into a police detective. "We're the police of Amanohara! Give up and turn yourself in!" Kagami proclaimed as he and the other uniformed policemen took out their revolvers, pointing it at Kumo Otoko as warning.

Spider Dopant was not amazed nor scared by this. Without even saying anything, he shoots out another thread, targeting Kagami's right ankle and pull it, causing the said policeman to completely trip. Kumo Otoko then launches another thread shot that tied the next two policemen on the wrists and hands simultaneously, which they pulled the trigger of their revolvers by accident as he pulled them, startling the audience. After pulling them, he just knocked them on their face, one by one, which he also done the same with the remaining policemen while chuckling amusingly from how helpless they were against him.

"Stop it!" Athena, out of anger, takes out her right slipper and smacked Kumo Otoko on his head, a habit which Ayumu does in the present time. This gets the stalker's attention, causing him to glare at her. "You should just sing… for me!" Kumo Otoko proclaimed as he approached Athena before grabbing her neck with his right hand.

Seeing how the client was in danger, Fuuto immediately climbed over the terrace's rail, landing on the stage, rolled over to where Kumo Otoko was before delivering a spinning kick on the stalker's face, pushing him away. He even managed to hastily put on his fedora and get Athena away from that Dopant.

"Don't you lay a hand on my client" Fuuto warned Kumo Otoko. "Fuuto…" muttered Athena. The spectators in the vicinity were amazed with the stunts that the detective pulled off and it really got their attention. However, the time for them to watch it is over because Kagami Tetsuo and the other policemen slipped into the spectators, whispering them to evacuate since it is dangerous. Of course, they agreed instantly because of what just happened to them and quickly left. Staying there would definitely get themselves in trouble and risk their lives further.

As for Fuuto, he went and grabbed hold of Kumo Otoko when the latter charged at the former. He tried to push the stalker away, but the latter had overwhelming strength to turn and hurl Fuuto towards the wooden-made sub-platform nearby. Kumo Otoko tried to attack but the detective managed to avoid them, getting off the sub-platform before trying to counter with reverse roundhouse kick, which missed as the stalker avoided it. Spider attempted to strike Fuuto with his hands but the detective dodge them by moving his head to open side and then lowering his body before delivering a left kick towards the stalker's face. Kumo Otoko managed to block that with his right arm then tried to smack with his left arm, which Fuuto intercept it with his right arm and tried to deflect it. Though, the detective was completely overwhelmed with the Dopant's massive strength in the arms and got pushed to the floor by the stalker.

Fuuto quickly managed to regain his posture but Spider shoot a thread from his left hand, binding the detective with his arms. The stalker then uses his other hand to shoot threads at a beam above him and ascended before standing upside down while taking the detective along with him to hang at about 6 metres height. "Fuuto!" cried Athena worriedly as she rushed forward though helpless with Spider's powers.

Kumo Otoko chuckled in triumph as he pulled the helpless detective, who struggled to break free from the thread, but it was like alloy, difficult to break. "A mere human is never a match for a Dopant" Spider stated. "Dopant?" echoed Fuuto, not knowing what that term supposed to be. "It's a new breed of people who evolve using a Gaia Memory" a female voice explained. It was around this time, Betty Vespertilio approaches from the platform above the stage, where theatre staffs use it for manipulating the lightings. It was her who clear the confusion of Dopants to Fuuto. She was carrying a briefcase and had her right foot stepping on the rail before opening the case to display its' contents. Inside it were different Gaia Memories used to transform into Dopants.

"And what are you to Athena?" Spider questioned. "I'm her guardian" answered Fuuto, which the response somehow made Athena felt desolated because he treated her like a kid. At that time, the detective was holding his Stag Phone, with its Pseudo Memory loaded. "I keep harmful insects like you away from her" he said before slamming the gadget to his thigh, pressing the activation button for its Live Mode. **"Stag"**

The stag beetle gadget proceeds to strike Spider on the face, flying around then strike the Dopant from the back of his head. Betty does not seem pleased with what she saw. Kumo Otoko on the other hand got annoyed and cut off the thread holding Fuuto, dropping him onto the sub-platform, which broke upon the crash.

Not long afterwards, Kagami and the other policemen arrived after hearing the crash. "Hey, are you okay?" asked Kagami worriedly. Though, Fuuto somehow managed to get out from the sub-platform by himself and take off the thread of him. "Still, what a monster that was!" said Kagami as he and the others looked around for Spider Dopant.

Fuuto even looks up but there was only the cut off thread. The Gaia Memory dealer and Kumo Otoko had vanished. Then, he also noticed that Athena was gone as well. "Athena, where are you?! Are you okay?!" Fuuto cried out worriedly as he looked around.

"Fuuto!" a familiar male voice called out and the detective noticed it was from his partner, Retsu. The spectacled detective was able to secure Athena to safety, taking her up to the stage with him. "Thank goodness, Athena" said Fuuto as he approaches and reaches out his hands for her. However, the celebrity backs off from the hard-boiled detective reluctantly while gripping her left wrist. "What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?" asked Fuuto worriedly.

"Your concerns are unnecessary" another male voice announced, which got their attention. It is none other than the Athena's employer, Katsumi Goro, who approaches to the stage. "I'll protect her in my own way" the president declared before looking at Athena. "Let's go" he said, grabbing her left arm and forcefully pulled her to leave. However, Athena was not pleased by this and break free from her employer's forceful attempt. "President!" she cried before approaching the hard-boiled detective. "Please, Fuuto. Stop Kumo Otoko" she pleaded. However, before she could say any further, Goro just pulled her away again and forced her to leave. Fuuto watched Athena left while glaring daggers at her employer before grumbling, "Katsumi.."

Retsu noticed his partner's behaviour and grabbed his arms worriedly. "Let's drop this case. What we're facing isn't human!" he warned before releasing his grip of Fuuto and then snapped his finger excitedly, having a good solution for this problem. "Let's leave this to the police" he suggested with a salute.

"I refuse" Fuuto instantly rejected that idea, which surprises Retsu. "Look into it, Retsu, using your bookshelves" he ordered. "Wow, I knew you would say that" replied Retsu as he puts his hands into the pants' pockets, somehow happy and annoyed by that order at the same time. "Alrighty then" he said, taking out his right hand and pointed like a gun temporarily. "Roger" the spectacled detective said with a grin and chuckle a bit, which Fuuto then responded with a subtle smile.

* * *

That night…

Fuuto quickly returned to the detective agency by himself, enter the office, turn on the lights before going into the secret garage, where Skull Garry was. "The ghost is right here" a female voice announced, responding with sarcasm to what Fuuto said to Retsu on the evening. Simultaneously, the parts of the big vehicle detached before the skull head opened up from splitting into two. Inside there was a woman with a short hair wearing black spy like suit from top to bottom, including the shoes. Her face was completely covered with bandage and she wore a pair of sunglasses over her eyes.

Upon seeing this figure, Asuna, Ayumu, Suguha, Silica and Lisbeth got freaked out and screamed. Ayumu cling onto her brother's right arm while the Asuna and Silica respectively hold Kirito's right arm and left arm. Suguha and Lisbeth hid behind Kirito for protection. The black swordsman was taken by surprise from the girls' action on him, which made him uncomfortable.

"There it is! A real ghost!" screamed Asuna. "Hurry up and get us out of here!" Lisbeth pleaded desperately. "Calm down, everyone. That is no mummy but a female human" said Hiro, assuring that the bandaged figure was a human being. Knowing that in mind, the girls calmed down and release their clinging off the two boys before they all proceed to watch the events.

At the time when the hard-boiled detective return, the bandaged woman was looking over some blueprints and had a toolbox on the platform she is standing on. "That was just a figure of a speech. Don't be mad" said Fuuto as he walked right in front of the bandaged woman and approached her. "Right now, my name is Shroud" the woman said, reminding the hard-boiled detective who she is. "How could I ever address my childhood friend with such a dreadful name?" said Fuuto disappointingly, somehow reluctant to address her with a terrible nickname.

"Never mind that. How is it?" asked Shroud. "Yeah, I saw the monster like you said" Fuuto reported. "So, the Organisation has begun their move and sell the memories in this city" replied Shroud. "What should we do?" asked Fuuto. Then, the bandaged woman approaches her childhood friend and lend him something. "You will use this. It is the only way" said Shroud, revealing the item she had in hand, which was the Skull Gaia Memory. However, Fuuto was not pleased with the idea that he had to become a monster to fight a monster, especially since he also needed to use a Gaia Memory himself. "If so, then I refused. This is plenty enough" the hard-boiled detective refused the offer and walk away, leaving the basement while showing the Stag Phone he got from Shroud earlier.

Then, before the scene could proceed, the girls, including Ayumu requested to pause the events because they had questions to ask. Hiro agreed and use the necessary commands to halt the past events since it functions like a video player, except that people can experience it like a virtual reality.

"Hey, Hiro. Just who is this woman called Shroud?" Lisbeth asked. "Oh, about that. I really don't know much about her. All I know is that she is Boss's childhood friend and the inventor for Gaia Memories and the equipment that we used, excluding the Victory Strider and W-Sword which I made them myself. I have neither met her directly up until now nor entered this garage until Boss passed away" explained Hiro.

"What?! You've been here for a year yet never entered this place?" Sinon asked while stunned from what the bluenette said. "No. The door was locked. I did hear some strange noise occasionally back then in the night. Even though I asked Boss what is going on behind that door, he refused to tell me anything and prohibits me from trying to enter through it. Back then, I wouldn't dare trying to break through, not when I could end up in jail for inadmissible behaviour during probation" clarified Hiro.

"Then, how do you get in here?" asked Silica. "Sometimes after the Boss had passed away, I got a letter from Shroud, which has the key to this garage, and I saw RevolGarry along with the equipment provided. She explains how the equipment here functions along with their instructions and did mentioned in the letter that I need to find a trustworthy partner" explained Hiro.

Hearing about finding a trustworthy partner makes the black swordsman had a question for the bluenette. "Hey, Hiro. Why didn't you choose anyone from this city? Sure enough, it does not have to be me, and you do have plenty of time to find a suitable candidate" asked Kirito.

"There's a lot of things happened back then when Boss is no more. Trust me, the mind stress was a lot worse than when you guys ended up here. I've got to reregister this agency as a different owner, getting approval from the court for parenting over Ayumu and a lot more. I'm lucky enough that the probation matter was already resolved beforehand or else this place is going to be shut down and Ayumu might had ended up on the street or something like that. Also, it's not that I didn't trust anyone in this city, but I was totally new with battling Dopants back then and I doubt anyone would agree to join me since I'm not yet credible. Well, about a few months before you guys accidentally arrived, I was already good enough to handle things over here, so I thought I don't need a partner. But I guess I was wrong about that part after all" clarified Hiro.

"What do you mean?" asked Asuna. "To be honest, even though I said I got things covered, it felt like an overwhelming burden for me to do it by myself. However, ever since meeting you guys and asked for your help, I do feel a bit relieved and had the confidence that we can overcome this together" explained Hiro.

"Hey, Hiro-san. How far did you investigate about Shroud?" asked Suguha. "About that, it's just a wild goose chase for me. There's not enough keyword to know who she is from the bookshelves. Boss's Stag Phone was completely buried on that island. Well, I did ask people around if they know any bandaged woman on the face, but they had no idea who she is and where she went. The place she was spotted was rather random so I could not narrow down her location. If there is a hidden base somewhere, there's no way I know how to access it without following her. However, I do believe that she has some sort of connection with the enemy organisation that we fought. Since she invented all this, she must be a runaway scientist from the enemy's side" explained Hiro.

"That does make sense. Plus, she knows about the Gaia Memory Organisation" Kirito agreed and added. "Well, in any case, we should continue. There's still a lot to watch" suggested Hiro and everyone then focused to watch the events.

* * *

 **30th August 2050, Tuesday**

At Amanohara Public Library…

Fuuto's partner, Kagemura Retsu is doing investigations from various references like newspapers, magazines and books. Unlike Hiro in the present time, Retsu is a normal human and solely dependent on those mediums to get information. The spectacled detective had 3 stacks of those reading materials in front of him while he summarised his findings onto a cork board. While Retsu was doing that, Fuuto had arrived and approached him and the spectacled detective stood up.

"I've organised my research" said Retsu as he snapped his finger. "It's a masterpiece" he proclaimed. Fuuto then takes a look at the cork board his partner had prepared. First and foremost, there are photos of several people involved, which are the detectives themselves, Athena, Katsumi Goro, Katsumi Mako, a silhouette of Spider Dopant and several females. Retsu had classified the photos accordingly to groups with labels and arrows connecting to each other, indicating what their affiliation was among each other. Retsu and Fuuto were grouped as Asaka Detective Agency and they are partners to each other. The silhouette of Kumo Otoko is classified as stalker and the arrow pointing to Athena was pointed out as _'blackmail'_. Athena is the client, who seek help from the detectives to stop Kumo Otoko. As for Katsumi Goro, he was classified under Katsumi Entertainment as the president and his relationship with Mako are spouses. Those females are classified as missing.

"On the surface, he is an entertainment company president" Retsu briefed about his investigation. "But behind the scenes?" asked Fuuto. Retsu then turned the other side of the cork board, which has a newspaper article attached on it, which the border of the related article was shaded with red line. The stated article was about a missing talent went missing again, for the ninth time and the said talent was employed by Katsumi Entertainment. "His talents apparently vanished into thin air" Retsu concluded. "I see. Just what I expect from you, Retsu" Fuuto replied and complimented, which his partner chuckled from it.

"Geez, some flatterer you are. You're the ones who gets all the benefits. Normally, I'm useless but I can finally do some work like this" explained Retsu as he glanced as his work before looking at Fuuto with an unpleasant, sarcasm look. "You care for them at first, but in the end you leave those beautiful women behind. You're a sinful man. Don't you know that?" the spectacled detective said further as Fuuto just grinned from listening to the former's whining. Then, an idea came up to Fuuto's partner. "Oh, right. Why don't you count the number of peoples whom you've brought to tears? In other words, maybe you should count up your sins" Retsu suggested. Fuuto smirked and then turned around to leave. "I'll count it next time" he said, which Retsu then chuckled amusingly.

* * *

That evening...

Fuuto went to the Amanohara Shrine site, where people will be there to pray for good fortunes at the shrine itself and where traditional festivals are held. There, he had an informant who provides the necessary people for him in solving the cases.

That informant is a man in his 30s, who goes by the name Akashi Isamu. He had a slightly fearsome face, with black hair and brown eyes. Isamu wears a black yukata with dark blue sash and wooden slippers. Despite how he looks, Isamu is friendly, and he sells pinwheels and festival items like masks for a living. His nickname is Sam, so most of Isamu's associates addressed him with that title. At this time, he had just sold a pinwheel to a little girl who came with her mother. Afterwards, Fuuto, whom Isamu addresses as Master had arrived.

Simultaneously, there is another man, hiding behind the Sam's stand. He wore the PPE clothing for construction albeit without the helmet. That man had grey eyes and brown hair while slightly chubby in appearance. This man who was watching from behind the stand was called Stone. "Yo, Sam" the hardboiled detective greeted as he approaches his informant. "Master, I got the person you need. His name is Stone" said Sam.

"Stone?" echoed Fuuto. "Yes. Like a rock, he's immovable. He is a architecture geek, so he knows the city's building well" explained Sam. During the explanation, Stone walked up to the detective's back, yet the latter did not notice his presence. "Where is he?" asked Fuuto and his informant glanced behind himself before turning to the detective. "Just right behind you, Master" said Sam.

Upon hearing that, Fuuto turned around and saw the mentioned person, who seemed rather disappointed. "No one noticed me again" Stone mumbled sadly. "This guy will do. I'm borrowing him for a while" said Fuuto to Sam as he approached Stone and took the chubby guy away. "Be careful" warned Sam.

* * *

That night...

Fuuto and Stone went to infiltrate Katsumi entertainment facility. The hard-boiled detective went to put the guards out of commission while the construction geek went to the security room to disable the surveillance system that includes CCTV, motion sensors and etc.

It did not take them long because the guards were too focused on bringing down Fuuto that they did not noticed Stone break in the security room. "The security was shut down" the chubby guy reported. The hard-boiled detective just keeps quiet and entered the gate, going ahead, which worries the construction geek. "Is it really all right for us to go inside?" Stone asked worriedly. "I'm a coward" he admits of being a scaredy-cat.

Fuuto then approached Stone and gave a pat on his shoulder. "It's fine if you're a coward. You'll live a long life" he said, which somehow convinced Stone to come along and the two of them went ahead.

They entered a building where the colourful lights are coming from, which straight away lead them to a vast room with a piano and a chair inside. There are a lot of windows in that room and their attention were focused at those colourful lights, so they went to take a closer look.

To their horror, they discover something unpleasant and creepy. There is a swimming pool next to the building with a group of ladies wearing swimsuits. However, it is not like there are men wearing shorts who joined that ladies' group and they started making out in the open. What horrified them was the fact that those ladies are the missing talents reported in newspaper and they each had Gaia Memories attached on their body. On top of that, those women seemed to be insane, having no care in the world, most probably because the Gaia Memories affects their sanity.

"What is this? The talents are..." muttered Stone unpleasantly. "They're being used as Gaia Memory Test Subjects" said Fuuto. Then the two noticed someone approached those ladies and saw that person was the president of Katsumi Entertainment, Katsumi Goro. Soon, even the president himself noticed the detective's presence and was horrified himself. "Detective!" gasped Goro.

"Katsumi" growled Fuuto as he tried to open the window in front of him but could not do so because it was locked. The detective's attention was averted when a gang of Masquerade Dopants barged in and charged at them.

Fuuto went and fought them, one by one while Stone tried to avoid the black suits Dopants. However, two of the Masquerades managed to grab onto Stone while Fuuto dragged the fight to the yard outside, unaware of his companion's state. Fuuto continued his fight and at one point he fell with his back on the floor because one of the Masquerades strike on the left knee's rear. However, the detective managed to rebound and deliver a right kick to the black suit Dopant that cause the former to fall.

"Help!" Stone yelled for saving, which got Fuuto's attention. The detective saw the construction geek was nearby the set of stairs nearby the pool and the latter was being cornered to fall by someone. That someone is the Gaia Memory seller Fuuto encountered yesterday at the city hall.

"I don't want to die!" Stone pleaded desperately as he back off but stopped when saw that behind him was a set of stairs going down, which increases his fear further. "You wish for your life to be spared?" questioned Betty which Stone nodded cowardly. "Not possible!" the Gaia Memory dealer proclaimed. Fuuto tried to go rescue Stone but the Masquerades intercepted him.

Betty then took out a Gaia Memory with her left hand, which is white in colour and had the letter B designed to look like a Bat, indicating the Bat Memory. "Bat" The Gaia Memory dealer activated the Bat Memory and inserted it in between her right shoulder and neck, transforming her into a Dopant when a lot of bats engulfed her.

Bat Dopant had a white body from top until the knee, bat-like head with black shades around the white eyes, blue tongue, and the left hand had black wing spreading out. There is also a grey shoulder pad on the left shoulder. Like Spider Dopant, the right hand is a normal human hand, but the left hand is a claw. This Dopant also had furs near the torso, white around the neck and black at the shoulders. There is a moulding of a bat below the breasts and lots of nerves moulded on the arms, breasts and thighs. On her waist, there is a blue sphere representing the buckle for Gaia Memory.

As Betty transformed into Bat, Stone keeps begging for his life to be spared but as soon as she become a Dopant, she stabbed him on the heart with her left claw, which stopped his heart, or in other words, kill Stone to dead. The construction worker who lost his life then fell off the stairs, with the insane talents laughing off at Stone.

Afterwards, Kumo Otoko arrived and looked down at where Stone was. "This happened because you came at the place you're not wanted! You damn detective!" scowled Spider at Fuuto. At that time, the detective was grabbing a Masquerade's arm and shoulder, restraining the latter before glaring at Kumo Otoko. "Katsumi, you fiend!" growled Fuuto while assuming Katsumi as the culprits before he knocked out the Masquerade he was holding and went after Spider Dopant. However, the other black suits Dopant intercepted the detective and dragged him away from the current place.

* * *

Those Masquerades dragged Fuuto to an abandoned construction site for an industrial plant. There, the detective continued to knock out those black suit Dopants on a black tall platform. Some of that involved him knocking them off the high platform and down a pile of bitumen. Afterwards, Fuuto went up to one of the industrial building with narrow space for its surroundings and put the incoming Masquerades out of commission by throwing them off the platform and knocked them towards the railings. When the fight seems to be difficult due to a swarm of the black suit Dopants coming all together to corner him, the detective noticed a pile of bitumen nearby, so he went down the stairs and then leaped off the platform. Luckily, because the height difference is low, Fuuto land on the pile without suffering any damage on his bones. Though, the remaining Masquerades refused to give up, came down and charged at the detective. Fuuto then noticed a long wire like vine near him so he uses it and swing like a Tarzan while knocking those black suits Dopant from the impulsive force of the kick reinforced from the swinging before landing on the ground safely.

Unbeknownst to the detective, Spider and Bat were lying in wait for him by standing on the pile of bitumen, which he then noticed. Before Fuuto could do anything, Kumo Otoko shoot out a string from his hand and tied the detective around the arms. Then, Bat cried out some sonar pulse at the nearby claw excavator, causing the construction vehicle started to move and approached Fuuto on its own. "You can manipulate machines?" The detective muttered as he backs off from the vehicle as it approaches him. However, Kumo Otoko shoot out another string at the claw excavator while manipulating the string around Fuuto's body to connect with the vehicle's claw.

The excavator began to pull and lift the detective as he resisted. Then, Shroud arrived at the rescue and shoot at those two Dopant with a red Trigger Magnum to distract their focus. However, Bat quickly decide to put an end to the detective by ordering the machine to swing around as much as it can and lobbed the detective to a cement wall with a "Safety First" reminded painted on it. "Fuuto!" yelled Shroud as she took out a Lost Driver with the Skull Memory loaded and threw it towards Fuuto, which landed on his waist before it turned the slot to the right on its own. **"Skull"**

Fuuto was thrown towards the said wall by Spider's command to release the string tying him to the claw as he transformed and collided on it. The said wall had a hole form from the collision and Spider went in there to see how Fuuto's corpse looks like when the detective meets his death. Though, to the Dopant's surprise, he was punched away by Fuuto's fist after he was transformed.

There, Shroud saw that Fuuto had become the incomplete form of Kamen Rider Skull in its Crystal Form. The skeletal Kamen Rider then walked out and saw himself from the reflective surface of a dark shiny van nearby the broken wall before he became amazed. "This is my body?" muttered Fuuto as he touched and looked on himself before noticing he was wearing the Lost Driver with the Skull Memory loaded. At that time, Bat went to attack Shroud and the latter avoided all of it before shooting the Dopant away with the Magnum. "Skull isn't complete yet!" she cried.

The remnants of Masquerades then came charging at Skull when he was staring at his reflection. The skeletal Kamen Rider noticed and charged at them. He punched at the first Masquerade on the stomach then grabbed the next guy and lobbed him at one of his comrades. Skull continues to beat the black suit Dopants until they fall.

"I'm your opponent!" yelled Spider as he grabbed Skull from behind by surprise and threw the latter towards the piles of bitumen. Then as the skeletal Kamen Rider stood, Kumo Otoko went and punch him on the stomach. Afterwards, Spider punched Skull on the face, sending him rolling on the floor.

The skeletal Kamen Rider stood once more as Kumo Otoko landed a few punches on the former. Skull fought back by doing the same. Simultaneously, Bat grabbed Shroud and punched her, sent her rolling towards the pile of bitumen.

Back to Skull against Spider, those two went into a grapple, with the former holding back on the latter's assault. As the skeletal Kamen Rider attempts to counter, the ribs moulded on his chest started to move on its own and a purple orb was formed, which surprises him and Kumo Otoko. Though, because of being distracted, the whole thing got halted, leaving an opening for Spider to strike Skull on the face, sending him rolling on the floor. Kumo Otoko leaped and attempt to attack the skeletal Kamen Rider but the latter took out the Skull Magnum and stop the former on his tracks by shooting at him a few times.

Fed up with being surprised, Spider shoot out his thread which Skull avoids it but the former intentionally do that to tie on a pole at the building far behind. Then, Kumo Otoko carried himself to the other side by swinging there while forcing the skeletal Kamen Rider to move towards the piles of bitumen. Afterwards, Bat fend off from Shroud before leaping on a front loader that happens to be nearby Skull and used the manipulative pulse on it. The construction vehicle itself approached the skeletal Kamen Rider and lowered its bucket to crush on him. Skull was not able to move away in time and got trapped. Shroud went to help her ally, but Spider intercepted her from doing so.

The force of the vehicle was too strong for Fuuto to fight back, even after being Skull. Everything seems hopeless at this point. However, something unexpected happen during the fight and that is, Fuuto's Stag Phone rang during the battle.

Even though there is a fight going on and Skull was being crushed to death, he reached up his phone to check who is the caller. To his surprise, the caller was his own daughter, Asaka Ayumu. "Ayumu? I see" Fuuto muttered confusingly for a moment but soon realised what is going on and answered the call. It was already midnight and entered the next day, which is 31st August, so he knew his daughter called him for a very important day, her birthday. "It's your birthday, isn't it? Congratulations" Fuuto wished Ayumu Happy Birthday.

On the other side of the phone call was a young Ayumu wearing a party hat and pyjamas. She was at her home with her late mother, at a flat located in Osaka. The girl was calling through her home's telephone while her late mother is at the kitchen. "Otou-chan!" cried Ayumu. "Okaa-chan! It's one of those rare times where he answered!" she informed her mother before tending to the call. Since Ayumu was at Osaka, she speaks with a Kansai accent. "It sure is noisy. What are you doing'?" asked Ayumu.

"Work. I'm currently fighting the bad guys and they have me nearly crushed" answered Fuuto as he struggles to even talk. As Skull was talking, Shroud strive just to fend off from Spider, meaning she could not help Fuuto. Afterwards, Bat uses the sonar pulse on the wheel loader again, making it act more aggressively, causing more pain on Skull.

"That's obviously is a lie! Do you really want to avoid Osaka that badly? I'll grow up before you even know it! If you don't return soon, I might already be a bride! You should return home sometimes!" whined Ayumu innocently despite not knowing the circumstances around her father as he struggles to listen her voice.

"When you become a bride... I will definitely be by your side" Fuuto replied, which makes his daughter excited. "Eh? For real?!" Ayumu happily asked for confirmation. At that time, Skull had the Stag Phone facing him. "I promise you, Ayumu" Fuuto proclaimed. "Okay!" replied Ayumu before her father ended the call. Because of that phone call and promise, Fuuto cannot afford to lose and die in this fight. "I can't die yet!" he declared, which he gathered up all his strength and began lifting the bucket away from him with all his might. Slowly, he managed to lift the bucket, causing the manipulated to start overheating from the friction caused by Skull.

Everyone else in the battlefield noticed this until the skeletal Kamen Rider managed to lift the bucket up to a certain point before he kicked the wheel, sending it to crash on the wall, forcing Bat off the ride. Seeing how it would be terrible for the fight to drag long, Spider and Bat retreated but Skull and Shroud give chase.

As for Hiro and the others who watched the whole event as intangible beings, something surprised, especially to Ayumu. Yes, it was the phone call where Fuuto made his promise with her. Even the girl herself was rather shocked and could not believe what she just watched either. "That phone call... At that time, Otou-san just became a Kamen Rider?" muttered Ayumu.

"That's... how it seems to be" said Lisbeth in disbelief. "Hey, Ayumu-chan. Did you remember this ever happened before?" asked Silica. "The full details were fuzzy, but I do remember this, and I think this was the last time I ever talked to father on phone" replied Ayumu.

Everyone else seems shocked by what Hiro's sister said. "For real?!" asked Suguha. "Yes" answered Ayumu. "For the past few years, did you call or message your father?" asked Asuna. "I did but every time I ask to meet, he just had to turn me down. I did lose my temper and said something horrible but what bugs me is that Otou-san did not even scold me when I did that since he did not reply to them other than normal friendly message" explained Ayumu.

"Hey, Hiro. You do know why, right?" asked Lisbeth as she and everyone else turned to Hiro. "Indeed, I do. The truth to those questions will appeared soon in what you all shall witness next, so I suggest we watched everything until the very end. After all, I only knew the truth from watching everything in this past" explained Hiro. Knowing that the answers to those questions lies just ahead, they all continue to observe without asking questions.

* * *

Skull and Shroud split up as they find out where those two Dopant went. Fuuto, now untransformed went back to Katsumi Entertainment facility. Apart from the mad talents at the swimming tool, there seems to be no one else around. Though, Fuuto just walked around the building and when he reached a corner, he saw Katsumi Goro coming out from that side.

The detective was startled from the unexpected presence of that company president but regardless grabbed the latter and pinned him against the wall with a right arm. Goro was startled himself from the sudden act of violence from Fuuto and got scared himself. "So, you are Kumo Otoko?" accused Fuuto threateningly, demanding the suspect for confession. However, the company president only shook his head, denying the accusation. "No! I'm the one who wants to know who that spider Dopant is. I was just hired by the Organisation to provide young people" denied Goro of the accusation as he admits his real guilt.

"You think I would believe that pack of lies?" questioned Fuuto. "I'm telling the truth! You've got to believe me!" Goro pleaded. By then, the president's spouse came and approached them. "What's with the ruckus?! What do you think you're doing to my husband?!" scolded Mako as she interfered and pushed Fuuto away from Goro, trying to protect her husband. Fuuto just kept quiet and neither said nor act because he is dealing with a woman.

Unlike men, dealing with women requires proper persuasion by words and heart rather than using force. He was trying to figure out what to say but something disturbing distracted him. It was Mako's right hand and she had a red spider moving around in the skin. Though, the disturbing does not stop there.

When Mako touched her husband's hand out for protection, the red spider in her skin came out, crawl onto Goro's hand and spit out strings, which got her attention as he started wailing. She saw that her husband was fully engulfed by spider web in a second and got scared.

Fuuto then notice the web started to glow and quickly grabbed Mako to get away from her suffering husband as far as possible because he feared something bad is going to happen. As expected, the engulfed Goro in a web suddenly fulminated into flames when the intensity of glowing reached up to its maximum, causing Mako and Fuuto turned their face away out of protection.

Realising what happened, Mako could only screamed in agony and despair that her husband met her demise. Following this was the laughter of amusement from Kumo Otoko, which got the attention of Fuuto and Goro's wife. The said Dopant was on the roof, showing signs of enjoy for the sight of killing Goro by bomb. "What do you think of my fiery spider bomb?" questioned Spider before shooting out a string towards Fuuto, which the detective avoided by ducking.

Though, Kumo Otoko predicted that because he was trying to write a message on the shack behind Fuuto. The written message was 'City Hall Building _111_ Closed'. Upon seeing this message, Fuuto realised something odd. "It can't be?" mumbled Fuuto before he turned to Kumo Otoko, who then shoot out strings from his hands and swing his way out from the vicinity. The detective, who realised the unexpected truth, clenches his fist in frustration.

* * *

 **31th August 2050, Wednesday**

The next day, around the evening...

Kai Amano or Athena is loitering around Amanohara's pier, wearing something casual, wearing a white with black and red batik like dress along with a black floppy hat and black mesmerised heels. She was singing the song she sang two days ago at her performance. Though, she suddenly stopped and were taken by surprise when Fuuto was in front of her. She was indulged in her singing that she did not noticed him. "I've been looking for you, Athena" said Fuuto but the singer just kept quiet and backs off. "You don't need to run anymore. I know who Kumo Otoko is" the detective explained, which Athena did not feel relieved to hear this.

"I'm about to settle things with him" Fuuto stated as he walked past Athena and away from her. "His identity is..." he said before Athena turned to him in anger. "Don't say it! I don't want to hear it from you!" she yelled interruptingly, which surprises the detective as it was not the reaction he expected from his client. "You... knew all along?" asked Fuuto.

The idol remained silent to that question though she did have something to say. "Please, Fuuto. Stop Kumo Otoko" Athena requested. "Yeah" the detective replied. "Make him admit his sins" Athena added. "I get it" said Fuuto as he turned his face away. "Promise me" Athena asked the detective to keep her request as a promise.

(Play song in the background: _Nobody's Perfect_ by Kikkawa Koji)

Fuuto did not reply to the vow through words. He just turned around, touching his fedora and then walked away with his hands in the pants' pockets. As he walked to where the culprit lies, he passed by his childhood friend, who seems to be waiting for him while leaning against the railing on the upper platform. "Your cheap love affair isn't very admirable" Shroud pointed out.

"What was that?" Fuuto questioned but he did not really bother much to ask specifically why and just continued walking. Then, Shroud leaped off the railing to where Fuuto is and approached him. "The Spider Memory is completely out of control. He's beyond saving now. Not even Memory Break will save him. In other words, there's just one way to stop him. You have to kill him" the childhood friend explained, which the last sentence causes Fuuto to stop. "Knowing this, will you still fight, Fuuto?" asked Shroud. The detective remained silent before he walked away without giving a reply.

* * *

At Amanohara Public Library...

Retsu is at the usual table, writing up the list of things he managed to figure out about this incident. While he was writing, his partner, Fuuto arrived and approached him without saying a word, which the former soon noticed. "Yo, Fuuto. Do you have a question?" asked Retsu with a grin as he stood and does his finger flicking habit.

"I have nothing to ask you. I found the answer on my own" said Fuuto without looking at his partner, which confuses the latter. Then, when he does, the detective delivers a strong left punch to Retsu's face, sending him to crash onto the neighbouring table before falling onto the floor. The people around were surprised as well. As this happens, a white Gaia Memory, with an initial S and shaped like a spider on a spider web for Spider Memory, fell out from Retsu's clothing. The spectacled detective was not expecting that and when he saw the Spider Memory on the floor, he was astounded before looking at his partner. "That is my answer. Kumo Otoko is you, Retsu" Fuuto stated, with referring the incontrovertible evidence is on the floor. "Impossible... I was sure I planned this carefully so you would not catch on to this. So how?!" asked Retsu.

"To be frank, I didn't think you as the suspect of Kumo Otoko, but I got a few leads that referred to you as one. First, you keep urging me to withdraw from this case. Second, the witnesses at the crime scene saw you left earlier than Katsumi. Regardless, these can only be considered circumstantial and not reliable. But the third hint convinced me that you are Kumo Otoko. The clue to that was your habit of writing number 1. It was always slanted. Despite how good a culprit tries to leave no evidence that leads to himself/herself, their habits will give themselves away and serve as an important clue. Indeed, all the message left by Kumo Otoko was slanted for number 1, which is something that you also do. From hitting you just now, the Spider Memory came out from your clothing. Your fingerprints on that Memory as well as the Living Connector mark on your skin will be the conclusive evidence that you're the culprit" explained Fuuto.

Upon hearing the deduction made, Retsu could only chuckled in amazement. "How cool..." he muttered and correct his sitting posture with the feet on the group while the hands are circling the knees. "as usual!" barked Retsu as he kicked the trolley of books nearby towards Fuuto, surprising the latter. In the confusion, the culprit grabbed the Spider Memory and flee. However, Fuuto quickly give chase as he left the library.

It took the detective a few minutes, but he managed to catch up with the culprit when the latter reached a section of the building that has balustrades and void of people. Retsu immediately stopped when he nearly crashes and falls on the balcony from running too fast.

However, Fuuto had already arrived and the first thing he do was grabbing the culprit's left arm before thumping the latter on his face, causing him to lose balance. The detective walked up to grab Retsu and forced to latter to turn facing the former.

Though, the culprit punched the detective, causing him to be taken by surprise this time. Retsu tried to land another punch, but Fuuto blocked it before countering by elbowing with his left and then thumping from his right.

The culprit who was sent towards the pillar then panicky ran away from the detective since he has no chance of winning against grappling. He tried to escape into a room through the nearest door that he found.

However, Fuuto was not going to let him do that. The detective pulled the culprit by his coat before hurling him towards the nearby rail. By the time Retsu turns around, Fuuto punched him on the face one more time. Afterwards, the detective grabbed the culprit and drag him against the wall on the opposite side. "Throw away the memory, Retsu!" Fuuto demanded aggressively.

Nevertheless, instead of fulfilling the demand, the criminal responded by kneeing the bluenette with his right, breaking the latter's grasp on him. Afterwards, he countered by thumping with his right on Fuuto's face, causing him to lose balance and nearly fall. Luckily, the detective was able to regain his footing by holding on to the pillar.

"No!" panted Retsu in refusal before panicky tried to flee. The detective however pursued in haste, managed to grab the criminal and dragged him to the other side. "Why?!" Fuuto growled before thumping Retsu at his face, hurling him towards the floor as he falls on it. The culprit's glasses came off when this happen.

"Wait, Fuuto! Don't be violent!" a familiar female voice yelled, which got the attention of the detective. He saw the owner was Athena and she was approaching the men from the stairs on the opposite side.

"It's my fault Retsu is like this!" the idol admitted, which got Fuuto's attention. "Retsu heard the rumours about President Katsumi. He was trying to protect me…" she explained. "I can't make tough decisions like you" scowled Retsu as he referred to his partner, Fuuto which got the latter's and Athena's attention. "I was so jealous of you. I loathed myself. So, I made my first decision…" the culprit explained further as he took out something from his pocket, which was revealed to be the Spider Memory. "and it was this. I will use this Gaia Memory to protect my beloved Athena!" he declared.

Distraught from the declaration, Athena could only lower down her left sleeve and stared at her arm. "Retsu…" she muttered, which the detective managed to get a glimpse on her wrist. To Fuuto's shock, he saw a red spider in Athena's skin, crawling around, waiting to be released. "That spider!" the detective gasped in horror as he recalled what happened last night, which the spider was on Mako and it killed Goro by explosion when she touched her husband.

"It was born from my broken heart" said Retsu as he stood. "About Spider's special ability… When someone has that spider in them and touches someone they love, that person explodes" he explained. Realising what happened, Fuuto stared at Athena, who seems to be in distress because of that red spider. "At that time, I revealed my identity to her, and planted it in her" said Retsu.

* * *

(Flashback starts)

The scene took place to when Fuuto was being hanged by Spider at the theatre two days ago. Kumo Otoko dropped the detective into the sub-platform and he quickly get down before grabbing Athena into the path leading to the storage room with lockers, hidden by curtain.

"Hey!" cried Athena as she demanded the stalker to let her free. Though, Spider pinned the idol against the lockers and shoot out a red spider on her left hand, which it crawls and quickly enters her skin.

As this happens, Athena wailed because to her, it felt like she's being stung by a scorpion from its tail or being injected with a syringe that had long big needle. Then, Spider reverted to his human form, revealing to be Retsu, much to Athena's horror. "Retsu?!" she gasped but the said stalker hushed her.

"Athena, if you touch Fuuto..." Retsu said before doing his finger flicking habit as a warning, which Athena could guess it is something terrible. "He will die..." he warned. Upon hearing this, Athena was horrified and dropped her arms. To her, the person she loved the most was Fuuto and just touching the said detective will take his life, granted that she does not know how that would work at this time.

"Where are you, Athena?! Are you all right?!" Fuuto's voice yelled worriedly from the stage while looking for her. Athena was worried and covered her mouth while horrified because it was too sudden for her to meet Fuuto after learning what Retsu did to her. Regardless, the said stalker smirked and decided to use this opportunity to eliminate his partner. "Fuuto!" Retsu yelled and forcibly grabbed Athena's arm before meeting up with Fuuto. Though things do not work well because the idol herself avoided the Fuuto and Retsu had to pretend his partnership with the detective still there.

(Flashback ends)

* * *

Fuuto, recalling that Athena refused his act of courtesy now understand why she acted as such. "So that's why you avoided me" he concluded, which somehow makes Athena more depressed. Then, Retsu suddenly approached and touched Athena's left shoulder, which surprises her and yet nothing happened to the former. "What a disappointment. Even though I touched her, I do not die" moaned Retsu desolately as he touched Athena's face, but nothing happened and the woman herself turn him away out of depression. "I'm not loved... by her!" Retsu concluded heartbrokenly and started to cry, which the people around him watched silently.

"Retsu..." muttered Fuuto, having sympathy for his partner. Though, hearing this from the detective does not pleased the culprit one bit, causing him to glare towards Fuuto with vengeance. "I will make it so you will never touch her either!" declared Retsu as he took out the Spider Memory and activate it. "Spider" The culprit inserted it onto Living Connector Port located at his neck, transforming him into Spider Dopant, which horrifies Athena.

The first thing Kumo Otoko does after changing were grabbing Fuuto and then dragged him to the roof before sending the detective rolling towards the railings. Afterwards, Spider unleashes the red spider with bombs, only this time there are multiples of them, presumably in thousands towards the detective.

Fuuto was surprised by this and got pushed to the railings as the swarms of red spiders that contains bombs bypasses through him. The detective felt some pain in his right arm, causing him to have a facial expression that resembles that feeling while trying not to scream. Though, Fuuto was more worried about those spiders that Retsu sends out.

There were a lot of them, and that Dopant spreads the swarms of them throughout Amanohara City. As Fuuto fears, those spiders fell down into the city like rains and one by one ended in the skin of the people, causing those who had them to feel pain.

Back to where Fuuto was, he then realised something and rolled up his right sleeve. As he feared, the detective got infected with that red spider bomb and saw it crawls within his skin, around the right arm.

It was around this time, Athena came up to the roof, but Spider intercepted and punched her in the stomach, making the idol became unconscious in his right arm. The detective also noticed this and was infuriated. "You bastard!" scowled Fuuto as he rushed towards Kumo Otoko to attack him. However, Spider quickly turned around, with Athena in front, using her as a shield.

Fuuto, who realised this immediately halted his steps and actions when he almost touched Athena. Realising that the idol was affected and touching her would make the spider jumped on the detective to kill him, he was unable to act without getting killed and stand down.

Retsu, realising that Fuuto cared for his life rather than stopping the former, cackled amusingly. The detective could only back off and let Kumo Otoko pass through. "Let me show you what happens when you touch him" said Retsu. "Stop it, Retsu!" cried Fuuto as he tries to grab Spider, but the latter knocked him away. "I refused!" Retsu proclaimed, unleashing an ability from his left hand.

That ability causes all the red spider bombs inside the victims to act more belligerent, increasing the pain in their hands. One of the victims in the city had a couple strolling around. A red spider bomb penetrated into the skin of the woman's left hand, which causes pain to her.

When Retsu activated his ability, the woman started to feel the pain started to intensify, making her boyfriend to check on his girlfriend as he touched her hand that is having pain. However, the moment the boyfriend touched to check, the red spider in the woman's hand came out and spit out threads, tying him in a cocoon and it started to glow intensely.

The woman was shocked with what happened and called out her boyfriend's name but soon covered her mouth in horror when he died by bursting into flames. The woman could only scream in despair from learning what happened. This does not only happen to couples.

Families and friends were also affected, with either the parents, children or siblings being killed from touching the victims that got infected with the spiders. The victims themselves were despaired and horrified from the loss of their loved ones.

Back to where Fuuto was, he could only gasp from seeing what happened to the city when the affected citizens touches or being touched by their loved ones. Amanohara had become a sea of flames, each bursting out from here and there. Not to mention, the screams of agony from the citizens echoed everywhere. Retsu, being the cause for all this, cackled enjoyingly from causing pain and despair to innocent people that he bears no grudge with.

"Athena and I will be the only ones together! Let despair fall upon the citizens!" Kumo Otoko proclaimed before continuing to cackle. "Retsu... You..." growled Fuuto as he looked down to his right hand, which has the red spider bomb in it.

Spider heard this and stopped laughing to look at the detective before the latter lift his face, glowered at the former. "have crossed a line you shouldn't have" said Fuuto. Though, Kumo Otoko was not fazed by the message and he just climbed over the railings, ready to leave with the unconscious Athena. "Then, try to stop our wedding! You stupid living skull!" Retsu taunted before he shoots out strings at something far and left by swinging through the city.

Knowing that Retsu must be stopped, Fuuto quickly left the building to go after him. He was going down sets of stairs before a certain woman intercepted him. That woman was Betty Vespertilio. "It's no use going after him!" she warned the detective as he halted his steps, readying his fighting stance. "That man is no longer human. As the first customer of Gaia Memory, Kagemura-san had truly created a real sensation that surpassed what is expected" Betty explained viciously and turned her back on Fuuto. "I'm sure everyone will want..." she said before turning towards the detective with her Gaia Memory in hand. "this devilish little box"

 **"Bat"** Betty activated the Bat Memory and insert it into the Living Connector Port on her neck, transforming her into Bat Dopant. "After Kagemura-san rampages one more time, my business with him is over and he'll be eliminated. Athena will die too!" she declared. The detective was not fazed by this at all and he took off his fedora, put the Lost Driver on his waist before taking out Skull Memory. **"Skull"**

Bat was startled when the detective activates his own Gaia Memory. "Henshin" mumbled Fuuto as he inserts the Skull Memory into the slot and pushed it to the right. **"Skull"**

The detective transformed into Kamen Rider Skull and this time, a crack appeared on the frontal, which ends in between the eye holes. The skeletal Kamen Rider puts the fedora on his head to cover the blemish before proceeding to leap and deliver a strong punch at Bat, knocking her over a few metres away.

Betty, getting caught off guard by the detective then retreats. Skull did not bother to pursue her as he had to stop Spider, so he summoned the Skull Boilder, ride on it and leave.

* * *

The skeletal Kamen Rider give chase to Kumo Otoko as he swings around the industrial sites. Skull went through every corner and junctions by bike before going over a narrow path of pipelines and metal pillars, which are located about three metres above ground.

While the skeletal Kamen Rider pursues Spider, Bat returned for revenge by manipulating an oil truck and catches up with the detective. When this chiropteran Dopant approaches as closed as possible, she breathes lasers from her mouth, shooting at Skull.

This in turns forced the skeletal Kamen Rider to get off his ride and fall onto the narrow paths. He managed to grab on before jumping onto the oil truck that passes below him. Though, Skull did not land on the platform above and almost fall while managed to grab on the truck. Bat rushes to get the skeletal Kamen Rider off the ride but the latter quickly delivered a kick as he climbed over and knocked her down.

When Skull and Bat gets up, they engage in a grapple. The chiropteran Dopant strikes with the left hand, which the skeletal Kamen Rider blocked by doing the same. Bat then quickly strikes Skull with right hand, which knocked him down.

The chiropteran tried to strike again with the right hand, but the skeletal Kamen Rider countered with a right kick to the groin, which caused her to fall. Skull then get up and tries to strike with the left punch, but Bat parried and knock him with a right punch, causing the former to fall towards the back of the truck. The skeletal Kamen Rider gets up and this time took out the Stag Phone. "It's time for that machine we developed" muttered Fuuto as he enters some activation code before continuing to fight Bat.

In the garage at Asaka Detective Agency, all parts of Skull Garry were attached to the big vehicle itself along with the body shutters closing. The gate in front of the skeletal vehicle opens up, revealing a tunnel with lights on the top side of the walls. Afterwards, Skull Garry roll out through the tunnel to where Skull was.

Back to where Skull was, he bought up some time by trying to not get hitched off the ride by Bat as he fought and defend himself from her. However, he had reached his limit and Bat knocked him off the truck. Luckily, Skull Garry arrived at the rescue and quickly fetched Skull before he falls on the ground.

Bat noticed the black vehicle and went to the back to see what it is. She saw Skull was unharmed, to her surprise. Then, Skull Garry speed up to the truck right side before ramming onto it, trying to knock Bat off her own ride and it happens two more times.

The chiropteran Dopant, fed up with being rammed, stabbed the black wing on her left arm, which seems to be a claw on the truck itself, giving it a new ability. What it does in return was the truck had a few bone and tail-like spikes grew out from the side of the truck, with each trying to stab at the skeletal Kamen Rider.

Skull fend himself by punching or kicking those spikes away from him. He does this a few times before having Skull Garry turned the vehicle almost semi upside down and run over those tails to cut them. Because of this, the collision sent them away, each to different direction.

The oil truck got sent to a wide field and made a U-turn to pursue Skull Garry. However, it was not necessary to give chase as the black skeletal vehicle came for confrontation. Bat readies herself to ram the truck against Skull Garry for flattening it by increasing the speed. As for Skull, he took out the Skull Magnum and inserted the Skull Memory in it before shifting it to Maximum Mode. **"Skull. Maximum Drive"**

The skeletal Kamen Rider aimed at the oil truck before shooting multiple shots at various places on it. One of the shots hit the joints which connect the truck and the oil tanker. Because of that, the load behinds slow down and slipped, forcing Bat off the ride and she fell on the ground.

The trailer and truck became unstable from being split off. The trailer falls onto Bat Dopant's leg, causing her to get stuck while the truck itself turned upside down nearby the fallen trailer. Skull gets off the trailer and went to check on Bat, noticing her got stuck while the truck had flames rising from the aftermath of the collision. He just stood there, watching her struggling to free herself.

Betty soon noticed the skeletal Kamen Rider nearby. Despite being enemies, she needs help to get unstuck. "Please save me..." Betty pleaded. Skull takes a glance at the trailer and then hold his fedora with his left hand. "I can't. It's too late" refused Fuuto as he walked away.

As the skeletal Kamen Rider walked away, Bat looked at the trailer and noticed the oils from the tanker were leaking quickly to the ground, to her dismay before panicky turned to Skull. "Save me!" Betty cried as she reached her arm.

However, Skull was already far away, and he ignored her because the oil had leaked too much for him to assist her. As a result, the oil catches on the fire and exploded, killing Betty in the process as she screamed in agony and this serves as a karma for her killing Stone when he begs to be spared.

* * *

Later, near the sea…

There was a building made for space observation, which has a tower being surrounded with semi-circular platform which was opened to air and used as an observation deck. This place was called Amanohara Space Observation Centre and had multiple small windmills built here and there. At the observation deck, an unconscious Athena was hanged by spider webs between one of the arches, with Spider observing her. "Now… wake up… and forever sing my favourite song" mumbled Retsu as he tries to wake her up.

The moment was interrupted when Spider heard footsteps approaching, which got his attention to turn around. Kumo Otoko or Kagemura Retsu saw Kamen Rider Skull or Asaka Fuuto approaching and stop while leaving a few metres gap between them. In a blink, those two seems to have untransformed temporarily, as in they were communicating by their real human form.

"Fuuto, stay away! Athena is mine. Athena IS MINE!" howled Retsu as he tried to fend the detective from saving the idol. "You sold your soul to a Gaia Memory…" mumbled Fuuto sadly as he recalled the time in the theatre when he requested Retsu to do lookup for him. At that time, the detective did not doubt him one bit and thought Retsu was the same old Retsu. Frustrated, Fuuto lowers his head, trying to accept that his trustworthy partner was completely rotten before looking at Retsu.

"One. I didn't know about the darkness within the friend who was always by my side" said Fuuto as he started counting something, which confuses Retsu. "Two. I momentarily hesitated in making the decision to fight. Three. Because of that, the city cried" the detective continued, which somehow angers his partner. "What nonsense are you babbling about?!" growled Retsu. "As promised, I'm counting my sins" said Fuuto before looking at Retsu. "Retsu"

"Now…" Fuuto started, raising his right hand and pointed towards Retsu. "Count up your sins!" he pronounced with a guttural tone. Instantly, both are now back to their transformed states, Fuuto being Kamen Rider Skull and Retsu being Spider Dopant.

Angered by the detective's taunting, Spider charged towards and tries to strike with his left hand, which Skull blocks it. Kumo Otoko tries again but the skeletal Kamen Rider hold the former's left shoulder to stop the attack and keep it firmed. As this happens, the ribs on Skull, opens up, which Spiders cowardly backs off before it unleashes a purple energy form of a skull, which roared, sent the latter rolling backwards and it goes up. The skeletal Kamen Rider took out the Skull Memory and inserts it into the Maximum Slot. Skull then leaped up to where the energy skull was before mashing the button on the Maximum Slot. **"Skull. Maximum Drive"** The skeletal Kamen Rider then kicked the energy skull like a ball, which hits Spider Dopant and explodes, with Retsu screamed in agony.

As Skull landed on the ground, the Spider Memory was released from Retsu's body and got broken from the Memory Break that was performed. The spider threads holding Athena now vanished and she fell onto the floor. Because of that, the idol regained her consciousness and saw Kamen Rider Skull.

Next to the skeletal Kamen Rider, leaning against the railing was Retsu, who struggle to just even speak or see his partner. "Fuu…to" Retsu muttered weakly. Kamen Rider Skull took off the fedora while reverting to Fuuto, which surprises Athena. As Shroud had stated, Retsu was beyond saving when Fuuto do a Memory Break on him. That is the reason why the detective's partner begun to lose his strength and could hardly speak or see. The detective, knowing that his partner is going to die, says only two words. "Sleep… Partner"

Retsu could only chuckle from hearing this and then agreed it is time for him to leave to the next world before shutting his eyes and died for good. Athena, realising the whole thing that occurred and stood while shocked that Retsu is dead. "Why?! You promised me that you would stop him!" she questioned and Fuuto could only remained silent before the idol continued. "Since it was you, Fuuto, I trusted you to return Retsu to normal… yet why?!"

"Retsu gave up his humanity" answered Fuuto. "You're not one to talk! You even became a monster! What makes you think you're better than him?!" Athena chastised, hinting that the detective is no different than Retsu, becoming a monster to defeat his partner. Fuuto only remained silent before he puts on his fedora and walked away without saying anything. "Say something, Fuuto…" Athena demanded. "Jerk… Jerk!" she yelled while approaching the dead Retsu before breaking into tears and cry over his death.

Fuuto stop his step, feeling that there's something he need to tell the idol. "Athena" the detective called out, which got Athena's attention. "I… can no longer see my daughter, Ayumu ever again…" the detective said despondently as he looked at his hand, which the red spider bomb is still intact in his skin and his facial expression is unknown because he tried to cover it with his fedora. Apparently, the Memory Break on Spider Memory did not nullify this and the effect from it became permanent. "Eh? Daughter?" echoed Athena. "That's why, Athena… If you are willing, when my daughter gets married, please look after her for me…" requested Fuuto.

Athena was stunned from hearing this whole thing. She was not aware that Fuuto had already married and have a daughter. The fact that he could not see his daughter again leads her to one conclusion. Fuuto was also affected by that red spider bomb, which is still intact in his skin and his most beloved person was his daughter, Ayumu. In other words, his daughter will die if the detective meets her. Though, before Athena could reply, Fuuto walked away and left the scene.

From that point, it concludes the whole event that Hiro wanted to show Ayumu and the whole surrounding become pitch black. Of course, Kirito and the others were rather distraught from learning the outcome of this. However, Ayumu could not accept any of this. "It's a lie… This is a lie!" Hiro's sister muttered before yelling in denial and looking at Hiro himself with teary eyes. "Please say this is a lie… Onii-chan" she pleaded, refusing to accept the truth her brother showed her.

The bluenette could only remained silent and did not give an immediate reply. "I would be glad if this is a lie but what the Earth witness is not made up. To be honest… I really regret for angering Boss when I was still in probation…" admitted Hiro, which surprises the black swordsman.

"What did you do?" asked Kirito. "I always wonder… why Boss was rather strict and acted cold to me? Did he behave the same way with his own family or more specifically, did he have his own? Without Boss knowing, I pry into his personal life and I learn that Ayumu was at an orphanage. Why didn't Boss stay with her? It was his own daughter. Did Boss really love his own daughter? When I confront Boss about this and said I will arrange a meeting for them, he punched me. It was by chance I saw that red spider on his right hand. Back then, I don't understand why he punched me but when I investigate it myself, I finally found the answer and this incident reveal the truth. If I had made you two met, you will meet your end, Ayumu. After all, the person whom Boss loved and wanted to protect most was you, Ayumu" explained Hiro before looking at Ayumu for the last two lines.

Knowing the two and two come together from her brother and the incident that was just witnessed could only make Ayumu cried and shed tears as she leaned her face on the bluenette. Hiro could only embrace his little sister in return, trying to comfort her. Kirito and the others remained silent as to respect this. They also could not hide their emotions of having sympathy for what happened to Athena and Fuuto in the flashback and Ayumu for learning the truth. Asuna, Suguha and Silica shed tears but try not to make any noise. Lisbeth, Sinon and Kirito could only close their eyes, trying not to cry as Ayumu's cries echoed in the vast pitch-black area.

* * *

About 15 minutes later…

Everyone was logged out from the virtual reality. Ayumu had already fall asleep on the bed at the office from crying too much, with everyone else watching her with sympathy. "Poor Ayumu-chan… she fell asleep from crying" muttered Silica. "It cannot be helped. Anyone who learns that their parent could not meet them anymore with that circumstances would have acted like her" said Asuna.

"Plus, that incident was truly a nightmare for this city. Who had thought that Gaia Memories can be this terrifying?" stated Sinon. "Come to think of it, Hiro. Why didn't the red spider bomb did not disappear from Fuuto-san's hand? Normally, doing a Memory Break would nullify them, right?" asked Lisbeth.

"Indeed. It should be. But at that time, Gaia Memories are new technology with unknown pros and cons. Normally, new technologies are used for military purpose because they are unsafe for public uses. Only when enough research was done, the public will get to use that technology. So, the important point was that the Gaia Memories are new technologies, and anything can happen that no one would had expected. No one knows what benefits were provided, the side effects that users would suffer from repeated usage and what empowers them. In Retsu's case, his jealousy towards Boss and his unrequited love to Athena-san was so strong that it causes the Spider Memory to evolve and gain a new ability that it never had. Of course, the side effects would affect him drastically. In his case, his soul had become one with the Spider Memory itself, which is why he died after Memory Break was done. In other words, if the Spider Memory stopped functioning, so will Retsu. At the very least, that's what happens to him" explained Hiro.

"So, what about us being here instead of back home?" asked Kirito. "Unfortunately, I have no idea why. There might have been an anomaly with the Time Memory itself and no one knows why or how this happens" explained Hiro. "I see…" replied Kirito.

"I'm sorry, everyone. You guys spent your time for me and Ayumu's sake even though the incident with Dummy Dopant was hectic. Please have a good night rest. We can celebrate Ayumu's birthday in the evening" Hiro apologised and wished them a good night. "Yeah, good night" said Kirito before he left with Asuna and the others.

* * *

A bit later…

Kirito and the others walked their way home to the Stream Dormitory. It was already late night and there seems to be no one other than them. On the way, they were discussing a few things, especially about what happened with Fuuto.

"To think that kind of thing to Fuuto-san. Gaia Memories can be scary when being abused" Lisbeth said. "Yes. It's like the moment you used the Memory itself, you will lose your humanity" Silica agreed and suggested.

"It's no wonder Hiro-kun did not want get Time Memory as a solution for us to go home" concluded Asuna. "Use it only once, you will be insane for eternity. It's so scary" acknowledged Suguha. "Kirito, what about the Gaia Memory you and Hiro used? Is there a possibility you can go berserk like what happened to Retsu?" asked Sinon with concern.

"It will be okay. The Memories that we have were purified and cannot be used without a driver. The chance of going berserk is pretty much zero percent. Well, we better put our trust with Shroud's invention and pray nothing bad happen" explained Kirito.

As they were talking, a small Yui in a hologram popped out on Kirito's shoulder. "Everyone, I have something to tell you all" the little girl said. "What's wrong, Yui?" asked Kirito. "I was curious whether the slaughtering incident really occurred in this city 10 years ago. It really happened, plus there's another one recently" Yui reported, which the news stunned everyone else when they heard the word 'recently'. "What?!" gasped Kirito. "Yui-chan, when did it happened?" asked Asuna curiously.

"12 May 2060, Wednesday. About a month before we even arrived here" answered Yui. "A month before we got caught up here?" echoed Silica in a different phrase. "Come to think of it, I did hear something like this from a grandma whom I helped a few days ago. She said this city really was cursed with extremely bad luck and lots of innocent lives were lost. Things like this happened a few months recently and then a decade ago" Sinon told them.

"The incident that happened a decade ago was with Fuuto-san. So, the recent one that occurred was with Hiro?" guessed Lisbeth. "Probably. Onii-chan, do you know anything about this?" asked Suguha.

"No. This is my first time hearing it. But... there were times when I saw Hiro seemed really depressed about. I tried to ask him what bothers him, but he refused to tell me anything" explained Kirito, which left everyone silence for about a minute.

The silence was soon broken by Lisbeth. "Well, let's not crack our heads for this now. We'll figure out eventually" she suggested. "You're right. It's already late. We got to prepare for Ayumu's birthday party tomorrow" suggested Suguha, which everyone nodded in agreement and make haste to their home.

As they do so, Kirito pondered about something. _"Ever since I've been here, a lot of things bugged me. What does the Gaia Memory Organisation plan to do with distributing Gaia Memories to the city's citizen? What's their end goal? Plus, learning Asaka Fuuto's past and first involvement as a Kamen Rider deepens the mystery. Who is Shroud and her connection to the Gaia Memory Organisation? How did the Gaia Memories begin to exist? And what bothers me the most was Hiro. Even though he told me about Begins Night and his connection with Asaka Fuuto, I felt like there's more than meets the eye. Just what burdens did he bear with and could not tell anyone?"_

* * *

 **31st August 2060, Tuesday**

The next day, Hiro and Ayumu went to the cemetery to visit Fuuto's grave in the evening. They brought flowers, placed it by the burying place before giving their prayers. Half an hour afterwards, the two left to go to Stream Dormitory.

On the way, Ayumu decides to talk with him about something. "Hey, Onii-chan. What happened to Athena-san after now? What is she doing now? I would like to meet her" she asked, which sort of makes her brother look gloomy. "Oh, that. She... passed away..." Hiro said depressingly, which left his sister stunned, meaning she cannot meet Athena anymore. "Why...?" asked Ayumu.

"After Boss left, Athena-san learn about what happened to the citizens, she felt responsible for causing the loss of the innocent lives and quit singing to devote herself in being a volunteer to help the people in this city. But, somewhere along the way, she got infected with an incurable disease and died a few days before I arrive for probation" explained Hiro.

"No..." muttered Ayumu sadly. "Athena-san did left an apology letter to Boss for the baseless accusations and not being able to fulfil his wish. Now, I understand why Boss asked me to fulfil his wish" Hiro added, which the two were quiet for a bit before the little sister decided to ask something.

"Hey, Onii-chan. Can't you quit being a Kamen Rider?" requested Ayumu. "Why did you ask that?" asked Hiro. "I mean... because Kamen Rider exist, dangerous and sad things keep happening. If only Dad hadn't... become a Kamen Rider..." explained Ayumu sadly as she shed tears before her brother decides to interrupt.

"Ayumu... I understand how you felt but... I can't" Hiro said, refusing the favour.

"Why...?" asked Ayumu. "If I quit right now, there is no one who can stop that Organisation. This city along with its people will perished. Plus, Boss would have still fought, whether he is a Kamen Rider or not. After all, this city is Boss's hometown. He would do anything to protect it" explained Hiro.

Hearing that somehow disappoints Ayumu, who halted her steps involuntarily and rather not see her own brother suffer from the dangerous and sad things that would happen. Though, the bluenette approached and tried to cheer his little sister up by giving a pat to her shoulder.

"It'll be okay. Once we achieve peace, there will be no need for Kamen Riders. In other words, we just need to stop that organisation" explained Hiro with assurance, which then Ayumu nodded and it makes her brother smile.

"Excuse me... Are you Oozora Hiro?" asked an unknown male voice, which got the attention of those siblings. The two of them saw a man, who has brown hair, with grey eyes and had a moustache. He wore a white shirt inside black tux along with pants and shoes of the same colour. That man also wore a black cape with red on the inner along with a black top hat and a monocle on his right eye. Judging from appearance, this person might be a phantom thief.

"Who are you?" asked Hiro, somehow being cautious with this man who seems rather shady. "My name is Arsène Lupin" the unknown man introduced himself. "Arsène... Lupin?" echoed Hiro before his little sister suddenly yelled, which surprises him. "AAAHH...! You're a that famous phantom thief, right?" guessed Ayumu.

"What do you mean, Ayumu?" asked Hiro. "It was seldomly mentioned in the news but there are times when this famous phantom thief will appear at different places to retrieve treasures. Amanohara City is the most often place where he appears" explained Ayumu, who seems to amaze the mentioned phantom thief. "Oh, you catch on quick, little miss" Arsène complimented.

"So, what does the great phantom thief who's wanted by the police appeared here standing face-to-face with a random citizen like us? Are you here to give your advance notice?" asked Hiro, trying to be cautious around this said man.

"Oh... no... nothing of that sort. I came here to deliver Asaka Fuuto's memento for his daughter" answered Arsène, which surprises the siblings. "Memento? You know my father?" asked Ayumu.

"Indeed. We clashed often and I have to admit, Asaka Fuuto was the most persistent guy who ever try to catch me. But at the same time, he also saved my lives from those monsters called Dopant. A lot of things happened but we are more like rivals than enemies and I have to admit Asaka Fuuto was a great person" explained Arsène before glancing to Hiro's sister. "So, you're his daughter, I presume?" he deduced.

"Yes. I'm Oozora... I mean formerly Asaka Ayumu" said Ayumu. Then, the phantom thief took out something from within his clothing before he approaches the girl and gave her something. It was a thick green book with an A5 size for the papers.

"This is his last present for you. Whatever feelings he has for you as his daughter were written down there. Asaka Fuuto asked me to give this to you" Arsène explained. "Thank you very much..." thanked Ayumu as she cries and accepted the present left by her father. "Good for you, Ayumu. Boss always remember you" said Hiro, which his little sister nodded in joy. "I have something for you, Oozora Hiro" said Arsène, which surprises the bluenette. "Huh? Me too?" asked Hiro.

The great phantom thief took out something and lend it to the bluenette. It was a small war tank, which has red tracks, golden roadwheels and dark blue body. The war tank had a cannon with golden lining around the tip of the barrel with some artilleries with two small red nozzles, one on each side of it along with an golden 'S' in a badge shape logo. The unique trait of this war tank is that it has a red trigger moulded on it at the back with a red siren.

"What is this?" asked Hiro. "This is a treasure of mine which holds mysterious powers" explained Arsène. "Your treasure? Why give me such a precious thing?" asked Hiro, confused with what the phantom thief is trying to do.

"Because my treasure does not only limit to this. If every one of them gets collected, the collector can get his/her wish granted. However, an unknown threat is approaching so I need to spread them out to make sure they would not be gathered in the wrong hands" explained Arsène, which surprises the siblings. Apparently, this phantom thief had his own fight going to ensue someday.

"I understand your reasons, but why would you entrust one of that to me?" asked Hiro again. "I've been observing you since that person passed away" answered Arsène, referring that person as Asaka Fuuto.

"Observing me? What for?" asked Hiro. "To see whether you are worthy to safeguard my treasure. After my observation on you for over a year and your resolve, I believed you are the right person to possess this" explained Arsène. "So, you want me to protect this treasure?" asked Hiro. "Indeed" clarified Arsène. "Until the right time comes, my successors will come to retrieve it from you"

"I see... but Arsène-san, I have my own opinion about what I'm going to do with this. I can promise you this thing will stay intact in my hands but there is no saying I would give it to your successors. I might end up giving it to someone I deemed worthy rather than your successors. Despite that, do you still want me to hold onto this?" questioned Hiro as he pointed out his intentions, which made the phantom thief chuckle amusingly.

"A splendid answer I would expect from you, but I won't change my mind about entrusting this to you. You are free to decide who gets this. By that time, my successors will just steal it from the person you decided to have this" explained Arsène before he holds onto his cape and spin around, temporarily blocked their sights. "Then, adieu!" the phantom thief bids farewell, which surprises the siblings. They looked around but there is no sign of Arsène anymore.

The siblings then stared at the given war tank while wondering what they would do with this treasure. "Hey, Onii-chan. What are we going to do with this?" asked Ayumu curiously. "Who knows? I have no idea at all. But, there's one thing I do know we should do" said Hiro. "What is it?" asked Ayumu. "We shouldn't let Kirito and the others get involved with this" stated Hiro, which surprised Ayumu.

"Huh?! Why?! I thought we're done with keeping secrets with them. Don't you trust them?!" questioned Ayumu with an unsatisfied tone. "Don't get the wrong idea. They've got my trust. I'm just saying only our family should know about this matter" said Hiro calmly. "Again, why?" asked Ayumu.

"A few reasons. Even if we tell them about this and asked their help, they might refuse or accept it. But if they were to accept this whether we ask their help or volunteered on their own volition, it will be much longer before they can go home. I don't want to give them any more burden than I already had. Please understand, Ayumu. I don't want us to take them for granted. After all, they are fellow humans like us, and they have a home to go to. They have feelings, desires and futures of their own. What Retsu had done in the past is exactly stealing away those from Boss, Athena-san and the innocent citizens. I don't want that to repeat again" explained Hiro with determination, seriousness and emphasis.

Ayumu was quiet and could not think but agree with her brother's opinion about them taking Kirito and the others for granted. "All right... I won't say anything to them" Ayumu told her brother, which he nodded as they are in the same page.

* * *

About 10 minutes later...

The Oozora siblings make their way to the Stream Dormitory. There, Hiro puts on a blindfold on Ayumu, which taken her by surprise, but he said to follow his voice. The girl reluctantly follows her brother's order, going through a step of stairs as he guided her to make sure she did not fall until they reached a double door, which leads to the meeting room.

The bluenette opens the door for Ayumu and tells her to come in before stopping and said that she can take off the blindfold. The girl does as he told to and find out she was in a dark room. "Eh? Where are we?" asked Ayumu. However, Hiro does not answer and hid in the shadows before someone closes the doors, which creeps his little sister. Suddenly, the lights turned on followed by a lot of popping sounds occurring, which totally astonished Ayumu. Only then, she saw Kirito and the others along with Hiro's informants, each holding some party poppers and so on before noticing she was inside a room decorated for parties.

"Happy Birthday, Ayumu!" They shouted happily before giving a round of applause to the special guest. "This is..." trailed Ayumu, not understanding what is going on. "Isn't it obvious? A birthday party for you. Of course, we're celebrating Sinon as well" explained Lisbeth. "Yeah. The project manager for this party was your brother, Hiro" Kirito told her. "Onii-chan did?" echoed Ayumu before the said person approaches her.

"That's right, Ayumu. I know you've gone through a lot of things yesterday and learn the truth. But, today is a special day for you that only come once a year. No matter what terrible things happened on that date in the past, you must not let that curse yourself. In fact, birthdays are days worthy of blessings. It's where people appreciate you were born and you yourself were glad to be born into this world. That is what everyone in here believed for" explained Hiro, which the speech was touching.

Moved by the speech, Ayumu could only respond by embracing her brother, which surprises him. Likewise, Hiro responded with a smile and return the embrace along with caressing his sister's hair a bit, which goes on for about a few minutes before the brother decides to end it.

"Now, let's not waste any more time and start this party" the bluenette declared. "Yeah!" everyone else shouted in agreement. Afterwards, they all sang as a cake which had been put the candles lit of fire, celebrating Ayumu and Sinon's birthday. Then, everyone started giving away presents to the birthday girls while having their meals or play some games.

While most of them were playing games or having conversations, the bluenette approaches the beauty sniper, who was conversing with Lisbeth and Asuna. "Hey, Sinon-san" Hiro called out. "What is it?" asked Sinon. The bluenette then took out a small present, which is a box wrapped in a blue paper and red ribbon. "Here, your birthday present" said Hiro as he takes out the beauty sniper's hands and then placed the present. "For me?" replied Sinon who seems rather puzzled. "Yes. It's nothing big but I do hope you like it" said Hiro.

Lisbeth and Asuna who were watching the whole present giving had eerie smirks on their face. "Eh? Is this what I think it is?" asked Lisbeth teasingly. "Do you have some feelings for Sinonon, Hiro-kun?" questioned Asuna, which made the mentioned two had their faces flushed a bit. The bluenette seems rather disturbed with the comment. "What's wrong with me giving a present to Sinon-san?" questioned Hiro with a pout, which made Lisbeth and Asuna giggle.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought you two were going out, from your reactions" said Lisbeth. "We're not going out!" Sinon protested. "Okay… Okay…" replied Asuna obediently, agreeing to stop teasing. "Then, why don't you open the present? Since Hiro-kun gone through all the trouble of getting one for you" she suggested.

"Then, can I?" Sinon asked permission from Hiro, which the bluenette gave a nod of approval. Then, the beauty sniper unboxes the present and took out the content from it. To her surprise, Hiro gave her a headband with a ribbon attached to it, which the colour scheme was cyan.

Somehow, Sinon felt uneasy about wearing this as it might look awkward. "You've got to be kidding me..." she muttered in disbelief. "Oh, a headband? It might look good on Sinonon" guessed Asuna.

"No... I don't think I'm onto this kind of thing..." said Sinon reluctantly. "Don't say that. Hiro give you this. You might as well put it on" said Lisbeth. "... Okay. But in don't laugh if it does not suit me" Sinon reluctantly agreed and told them not to laugh. The beauty sniper puts on the headband on her head before she started feeling nervous as she showed it to Hiro, Asuna and Lisbeth.

For a while, they were speechless, which left Sinon uneasy as she was being stared continuously. The bluenette in particular could not hide his awe and his face flushes in red. "Wow... you look much better than I expected to be. The words to describe would be... elegant... and cute..." Hiro commented.

Hearing the second word of compliment makes the beauty sniper felt embarrassed. "C-Cute?! Oh, this is so embarrassing. I'm taking this off!" cried Sinon, who seems rather flustered and tries to take off the headband. However, Asuna and Lisbeth quickly approached and stopped the beauty sniper from removing the headband.

"Why are you so embarrassed about? It such a shame if you take it off now" said Lisbeth. "That's right. It really suits you and I think I want to make you wear some better clothing to fit in with that headband" Asuna declared.

Hearing what the Flash said, which implies about fixing Sinon's own fashion makes the latter felt more trouble because Asuna coerces into wearing something embarrassing. "No! Let me go! Asuna! Lis!" yelled Sinon as she struggles to break free from them but to no avail.

As for the bluenette, he could not help but feel sorry for getting the beauty sniper into that situation. "Oh-là-là, I guess I put Sinon-san in a cringey situation. Oh well..." muttered Hiro before he smiled. And so, the party continues on as everyone enjoy themselves.

* * *

 **That's it for this chapter. My apologies for the long delay. I was busy with my studies in my finally last semester, which I successfully passed, yay. Though, I don't have any final exams or such, I was rather pressured emotionally because lack of communication and commitment in doing my projects leads me to high anxiety. Honestly I just want to finish it already because I've been dragging it far too long. But, after a long absence or/and writer's block from time to time, it's just hard to make a comeback. Coming back home at end of August, I just had the urge and invited my siblings to go watch Boboiboy Movie 2 (A great series loved by many but I always wonder why Gopal had to bring trouble to the team, all the time, be in movie or series. In galaxy season, Gopal is very immature, and he just act without thinking, which in turn brings trouble!), then goes shopping here and there. A week after that, my parents returned from pilgrimage, hurray. But now, everything seems so boring again. Maybe getting Kingdom Hearts 3 would entertain me but I can't afford it. I've been relying on Detective Conan manga lately but Gosho Aoyama takes breaks too long and too often. In other words, no one knows when will Detective Conan get to the ending. I just hoped the author would live that long to release it.**

 **All those asides, I have the stories going on in my head, imagining it day by day but to express them in words and conversations as a whole seems tough without dedication. I usually wrote with computers, but I had to resort with WhatsApp in case I am outdoors. Sometimes, life can be a bit uninspiring when recent tv stories or movies that could give impactful impression and makes me might lose passion. In any case, I do read the reviews and got the picture of them. I'll try to fix, depending on my interest on where it is and let's hope I can give my commitment more. Anyway, please rate and review.**


	11. Princess Sara's Big Stalker Case

**4th September 2060, Saturday**

Somewhere within Amanohara City...

Sara Lindsey Elisabeth is on her way to work by foot. She seems to be in a hurry, as if trying to get away from someone rather than being late to work.

Running away from someone or rather a stalker seems more appropriate because there is a chubby man, who is a Gaia Memory Dealer, wearing black suits was carrying a bouquet of flowers. This man's name is Ooyama Rai.

Fed up with being followed, she then halted her steps and turned around with a glare. "You're being so obstinate!" Sara berated. The chubby stalker was surprised but seems rather pleased at the same time because Sara is willing to talk with him.

"Miss Sara..." started Rai before he kneels and presented the flowers he bought. "Please... marry me!" the chubby guy proposed. "Why should I marry with a guy like you?!" growled Sara as she turned and walked away.

"Please wait!" Rai pleaded, which the idol halted out of pity while crossing her arms impatiently. "I am a very capable man! I'm much better than Hayate Junnosuke whom your Onee-san took in! I won't disappoint you! I'm sure we could be the best partners..." the chubby guy clarifies before he approaches Sara and hold her arms. However, the idol was not pleased with Rai doing as he likes and pushed him away while berating, "Don't touch me!"

Rai, who was pushed away and rejected had lost his patience as his face turns into anger. "You think you can stop me?!" growled Rai as he discarded the flowers before taking out a Gaia Memory, which represents Masquerade. **"Masquerade"** the chubby stalker activated the Gaia Memory and inserted it on his face, which transformed into the mentioned Dopant.

The black suit Dopant charged at Sara, attempting to grab her but the latter avoided before slamming him with her handbag. "Tch! Why must you anger me?!" she utters and complained before taking out her Gaia Memory and activates it. **"Clay Doll"** Sara inserts into the Memory Driver that she wore, where the buckle is at the back and transformed into the gault Dopant.

"Miss Sara!" Masquerade yelled as he ran towards Clay Doll, believing she accepted him. However, the gault Dopant aims her cannon arm at the black suit Dopant and blasted him with full force, instantly killing Rai in the process. "Tch!" she utters annoyingly from killing someone again, which left unpleasant feelings to her. Apparently, this is not the first time it happens. Regardless, she untransformed and then goes to work.

* * *

At Breezing Wave Radio Station...

Sara is currently at work within the studio and she was on air in the radio. "I'm coming at you with 130% pep today! This is Sara Lindsey Elisabeth's Healing Princess!" she announced cheerfully.

Outside the station, lots of fans were waiting to greet and meet the said idol when she finishes work. Even though, she comes out at least an hour later when her segment was done, some hardcore fans come hours earlier, just to make sure that they can secure the best spots.

"First, let's start with Mystery Tours of Amanohara" started Sara as she initiates the mentioned segment. The DJ takes out one of the postcards and reads it. "Princess Sara. I saw it. It's the skull man! I'm scared! Save me!" she read with full emotions before putting it away.

"Once again, we get some scary eyewitnesses report. I felt quite incredulous. This city sure really loved its monsters. Now, then. To change the mood, my debut single. It's on number one in Amanohara Hit on Group for three weeks straight. Colour your life with a rose, Barairo no Jinsei. Please listen" Sara announced before a song take place afterwards.

* * *

Simultaneously, at Asaka Detective Agency...

Kirito and Hiro are relaxing on the chairs for guests, with the latter lying on the sofa specifically while listening to the radio. "Oh, here it is! It's here! It's here! It's here!" cheered Kirito excitedly as he and Hiro were waiting for the song and clapped their hands before the song began.

(Song: Rose coloured life by Kuraki Mai. Disclaimer: Neither me nor the character inside own the song)

 _Always! My celebration!_

 _Overbearing situation! Persistent communication!_

 _On the edge of emotion!_

 _Even when I feel like running away I still believe._

 _That I can continue onward and start in my life._

 _Lonely… lonely… even so I still do my best with all my might!_

 _If my dream can only be perceived as blurred._

 _Then there is nothing but to cry, cry, cry and cry as the tears flow._

 _It's not over yet; one more time! Make your smile!_

 _Even when it is futile. I still hug, hug, hug and hug and refuse to let go of the present._

 _Don't regret (to live); be born here (and the reason there of)_

 _And to create (with you); this is the case no matter where!_

 _A rose-coloured life!"_

The black swordsman and bluenette began singing the mentioned song as passionate as possible, which some poses were included as they go on with the rhythm. As those two were singing, Ayumu and Silica, who happens to be there at the opposite side, just watches the boys' antics. The twin tailed hair girl was speechless, but the Chief stared at those boys with an annoyed expression.

"How mysterious... why does her voice attracts me so to be so lovely?" questioned Hiro as he rocked with the rhythm. "Hey, hey. That's a silly question! Isn't it obvious? Princess Sara... is an angel!" Kirito proclaimed with justification.

Without the boys realising, Ayumu approached and then slapped on their faces with her green slipper, which annoys them. "What are you two swooning around here?! Stop slacking and go back to work!" the Chief scolded and ordered them to do their work.

"Well, Ayumu-chan, just cut them some slack. They've been working hard yesterday" Silica defended the boys. "My thoughts exactly" agreed Kirito. "I can still think Silica a considerate angel but Ayumu... you're a very bossy devil" Hiro stated.

Hearing the insult, particularly the _devil_ part totally makes the chief loses her temper and puts her brother in a headlock, to his surprise. "Who're you calling a devil, huh?!" chastised Ayumu, tightening the headlock further. "Ayumu... It hurts!" Hiro groaned as he begs to be free. Kirito and Silica silently watched, not wanting to get involved in the siblings' fight.

* * *

Back at the radio station...

While in the middle of the song played, they had another segment, which is the Phone Request Corner. "This is Phone Request Corner!" Sara excitedly announced before a phone call that was made, transferred to her. "Hello, what is your name?" she greeted and asked for introduction.

"I am Mr Question. My first question, what is your favourite number?" the caller introduced with a hoarse male voice and questioned the idol. At that time, an unknown silhouette was standing somewhere near a tree and that person was the caller called Mr Question.

"Number 7" answered Sara. "Then, I'll give you a present of number seven" said Question before his unknown figure left the tree and went off somewhere. As for the DJ, she felt rather annoyed as people who asked questions at her and want to give her presents anonymously can only be stalkers.

"Another stalker?!" Sara grumbled in her mind as she turned off the microphone and utters a tic of annoyance before turning it on again and act like nothing happened. "My, what a rather odd phone call. The voice was strange too. But, Mr Question-san, what kind of present are you going to give to me?" asked Sara.

As the DJ was saying that while on air, the other staffs nearby heard some grumbling noise and were looking around, wondering where it came from. Likewise, the same noise could be heard even from Asaka Detective Agency, which got the quartet's attention and Ayumu let go of her headlock on her brother, finally allowing him to breath. "What's this noise?" asked Kirito as he along with the others went to check what is going on outside the window.

Of course, the staffs at the radio station lift up the blinds near the window to see what is going on as well. To everyone's shock, a windmill had collapsed in such a way that it would form number 7.

Nearby that area, a strange Dopant is rampaging, hurting the innocent people while doing as he please. Sara, on the other hand, was more horrified by this as some strange stalker would do things like this just to give a present for her. "What is that...?! What's going on?!" she muttered in dismay.

As for the people at the Asaka Detective Agency, they noticed that the incident where the windmill collapsed was nearby the radio station. "What is that?" asked Ayumu. "Looks like Question is doing what he said in his notice" Silica suggested. "It's nearby the radio station" said Hiro.

"Wait, Princess Sara. We're coming to the rescue. Silica. Let's go!" declared Kirito. "Okay!" The twin-tailed hair girl replied before she left with the black swordsman. Kirito ride on the Hard-Boilder parked outside, with Silica on his back. The two wore their helmets before the black swordsman turned on the engine and they depart.

* * *

The duo went to the scene, where the rampage takes place. However, the police had arrived earlier and secure the perimeter from the public. Regardless, Kirito and Silica went around, assessing the damage and took photos for analysis. Afterwards, the two walked their way to the radio station to gather clues.

"Still, who could have possibly done this to a frail damsel in distress?" muttered Kirito, which the twin-tailed hair girl raises her brows in curiosity. "Frail damsel in distress? You're talking about that DJ idol?" inquired Silica. "Of course. It is only natural for me to assist Princess Sara. Who knows, maybe she might fall for me? If that's the case, I might have to properly decline" explained Kirito with enthusiasm. As for Silica, she can only ponder how jealous she was towards Asuna, who had stolen Kirito's heart for herself and Sara, the idol whom Kirito admired. _"If only Kirito-san would look at me like that, I'll be more than glad to be his bride..."_

After about 10 minutes of walking, they have arrived at Breezing Wave Radio Station. Though, to their astonishment, they saw a lot of people at the entrance, as in trying to raid on someone. They were trying to interrogate the idol, Sara Lindsey Elisabeth about the incident that revolved around her.

It is not only fans but mass media from different company are trying to get scoops from the victim or perhaps maybe the cause of this chaos. "That sure is a lot of people" said Silica. "It is inevitable. Because of that mysterious caller did that, everyone think that Princess Sara is responsible for all of this" stated Kirito.

As the black swordsman mentioned, the people are trying to interrogate Sara. All of them pretty much tried to get her to say something about this incident. Stopping those people from disturbing were the guards and one man. He is slightly chubby in overall appearance, had hazel eyes and black hair. He also wore glasses and black suits as a whole set. This man is Sara's manager, Oshiro Katashi.

Despite being a manager, he struggles to even drive away the mass media from Sara. "Sara-san, the caller just now is the culprit, right?!" a man among the crowd shouted. "Because of that, a lot of people got hurt!" yelled a woman among them.

"Tell us what you're thinking!" another man demanded. "Please move! Our Sara didn't know..." Katashi ordered as he tried to stop the mass media but fell down from being barged by them.

The idol quickly come to help him. "Are you okay?!" asked Sara worriedly as she assisted him to get up. Then, the black swordsman, worrying about the idol makes his way to enter from the crowd. "That girl did not know anything!" a new female voice yelled.

It got the attention of most of the crowd, including Silica. They saw a woman, slightly older than Sara, having long blonde hair and grey eyes, wearing purple shirt inside a grey jacket along with dark grey pants and grey heels. She was holding a grey long coat in her arms. This woman is Umeda Masako.

"But I might be able to tell you important information about the culprit" the blonde stated. "Who is this woman?" muttered Silica. "Who?" asked a woman reporter among the crowd on the back line to a man next to her, who was her acquaintance. "It's Umeda Masako from Input Vocalic" the man answered.

"I received a similar phone call before on my show too" said Masako. _"Could it be she was the previous victim from an incident like this?"_ pondered Silica. "Is that true?!" the woman reporter asked, surprised by the fact, which Masako responded with a nod.

Then, some of the people that were trying to get info from Sara went to the blonde. "Sara" Masako called out, which the said DJ responded with a nod to imply her gratitude for saving the latter from the mass medias.

Kirito also noticed Masako and got temporarily distracted to hear her opinion but then focused on where Sara was to help her. He slipped through the crowd, guards and Katashi before appearing in front of Sara face to face, while his left hand touching the hand. Sara seems rather unpleased with Kirito in front of her or what he wants to do.

"Well, I am glad you're okay, Sweet Angel..." the black swordsman said chivalrously before trying to hug the idol but crashed against the wall because she slipped through the opening while he was distracted talking.

Katashi noticed the idol leaving away from the entrance and he followed before leading her to the parking lot on the other side, where the company van was at and opened the vehicle's door for her to enter. When out of sight from public, the idol seems to be rather furious with her manager and started to release her tantrum on him.

"Useless bum! If you're a manager, the least you can do is drive away the mass media!" Sara berated before smacking Katashi's back with her handbag. "Ouch! I'm sorry!" the manager yelped and reacted accordingly before apologising. Then, he suddenly spouts things like his stomach hurt and his chronic gastritis like that while heading to the driver seat.

Sara did not really care and was still in a bad mood. Kirito and Silica then appeared from the corner and by chance managed to see the exchange between the idol and her manager. Sara soon notices the two and become annoyed while presuming they witness her bad attitude. "Eavesdropping?" She questioned grumpily.

"I'm sorry! We didn't mean to!" Silica apologised with a bow. "It's just coincidence" said Kirito before he approaches the idol and hold the roof of the car like, with the implications of hitting on her.

"Who might you two be?" Sara questioned, which surprises the black swordsman since they met face to face in Money Dopant incident. "Have you forgotten? My name is Kirito. And allow me to introduce, Silica. We're from Asaka Detective Agency" Kirito introduced himself again with Silica and their affiliation. Sara, hearing that they were from a detective agency made her assumes these two were detectives.

"I don't remember calling any detectives. You're an eyesore! Don't appear before me again!" the idol demanded furiously. Silica was taken aback from this, but the black swordsman was not fazed by this.

"Don't be like that. Even if there is no request, a detective would jump into a dangerous case on his own" said Kirito before turning the other direction. When this happens, Sara closes the door.

"For example, when a frail damsel..." the black swordsman turned to where Sara was only to crash his head on the van's closed door before falling on the ground. The van leave as soon as Kirito fall. "Kirito-san!" Silica yelled as she come to his aid and help him to get up. "Wait, Princess!" Kirito called out to Sara only for the van to leave the building and had went far away.

There was a short silence afterwards, before it was broken by the girl next to the black swordsman. "Kirito-san. I think that woman is more terrible than you might think she be" suggested Silica. "Yeah. I think so too" concurred Kirito.

* * *

20 minutes later, at Asaka Detective Agency...

Kirito and Silica returned to report their investigations. At that time, Hiro is looking over the content of his self-made fan book of Sara. The black swordsman approached the bluenette and took the book away from the latter. "What are you doing, Kirito?" asked Hiro. "Partner, I have only one advice for you. Forget about Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. She's not suitable for you" Kirito told the bluenette.

Hiro, however, does not seem fazed by this. In fact, he had a smirk on his face and chuckled amusingly. "Oh, so that's what it is. You like Princess Sara more than you do for Asuna-san. But no worries, I'm not going to lose with you so easily" Hiro retorted, not understanding what the black swordsman is implying.

"It's nothing like that! That woman is a rotten apple!" Kirito argued . "That's right! Ayumu-chan is 100 times way better than her" Silica supported the black swordsman's statements.

"What Princess Sara do for you guys to make this conjecture?" asked Hiro. "It's no conjecture. She scolded us and pushed Kirito-san to the ground" Silica argued, with some of the details being incorrect.

"No, I hit my head on the van's door and fall" corrected Kirito. "In any case, forget about her" he ordered. "No way" Hiro answered bluntly. "The caller on the radio was a Dopant. He made this city cry. How could I ignore a crisis like this? Its unfathomable!" he justified, which left everyone else stunned.

Then, the bluenette confiscated back his book and opened up a certain page of it. "Plus, you guys got the wrong impression. This is the image of Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. She's pure and refined, an ideal lady" Hiro told them as he flipped to another page of plastered article cut of Sara.

The other three could only snarked musingly about the bluenette. _"That image is completely shattered"_ thought Silica. _"Princess Sara is such a domineering, scary woman. What merit do we have from helping her?"_ Kirito pondered in his mind. _"Baka Aniki is completely on his own world"_ Ayumu deduced.

* * *

At Elisabeth's mansion...

The family is having a meal at the long-long table. The seat, at the short end of the width with the wall on the back, as usual was occupied by the head of the family, Shane.

To his right, sitting about a metre away from the long length was the second daughter, Sara. To his left, about 50 metre away from the opposing side to Sara was Hermione, the eldest sibling and first daughter.

Junnosuke sat at a gap of 50 metre next to his wife. The news of a stalker wreaking havoc on Sara's radio show reached up to the family's ears and apparently, none of them are very pleased about it.

"Sara, looks like you got involved in some kind of trouble" said Shane suddenly, while holding Riki the cat. The mentioned daughter just kept quiet by this, not knowing what to say. "That's right, Otou-san" confirmed Junnosuke and Sara gritted her teeth when his brother in law meddled in to say in her place.

"Talk of today's incident made it sound like it was Sara-chan's fault. There was also a flood of protestors at the radio station. At this rate, your career will draw to a close" he pointed out.

"Just quit already. You're not suited to be a talent. It's because of your conspicuous acts, you attract strange guys" meddled Hermione. Hearing this from her elder sister somehow loses her patient. "Otou-sama. Isn't it about time we entrusted Sara with some Gaia Memory distribution work?" Hermione suggested. "It's for the sake of Elisabeth family"

The patience that Sara been bearing had reached her limit and burst from the insult that her sister spout at as she stood and slammed her hands on the table.

"Stop meddling unnecessarily!" she shouted chidingly. Apparently, Hermione knew this criticism was addressed to her and she kept a cold-hearted composure.

"What's kind of attitude to you nurtured from to speak like that to your sister?" she disputed. Their father just chuckled amusingly before Sara put on the Memory Driver and take out her Gaia Memory to activate it. **"Clay Doll"**

Hermione quickly stood also, with her Memory Driver equipped along with her Gaia Memory activated. "Taboo"

Sara becomes a Dopant and makes the first strike by blasting at Hermione with the left arm cannon. The elder sister transformed as well, into Taboo, avoided the attack and counter with the red energy ball, which hits the chubby Dopant, and sent her flying to crash at the stairs before falling on the ground.

Junnosuke was shocked at what his wife did. Of course, it was self-defence from Hermione's point of view but from the husband's side, she was using full force, as in trying to kill her own younger sister.

"Hey, Hermione! There's no need to be so serious!" Junnosuke scolded worryingly. "It's okay. This girl won't die" assured Hermione calmly. Though, for Sara, she was not really pleased about being defeated by her sister, punched the ground with her fingerless arm and gets up. "Why must you anger me?!" she groaned.

Taboo then flew towards to unleash another red ball while Clay Doll attempted to blast the former at point blank range. Yes, this seems like a fight to death. One of them or both would die but a certain someone intervene.

"That's enough!" ordered Shane as he slammed the table angrily. Upon hearing that, the two daughters halted their attacks and revert to human forms. It is only natural for them to obey as Shane is their father. If they had continued, their father would punish them austerely.

After the fight was stopped, Shane approaches his daughters. Specifically, he had something to say for Sara, whom he was worried about. "Sara. I too, believe this is a good opportunity. If you can't clear your troubles, you might as well resign your current job" Shane advised his second daughter.

"Otou-sama!" Sara cried but went silent for a moment because of the guilt for raising her voice towards her parent before calming down to say things properly. "I'll clear this up by myself! I will" she declared with determination before leaving to her room.

On the way, Sara had various thoughts in her mind, which most of them were ominous. She hated her family, especially her sister who often bullies her. It does not happen recently but since young.

She wanted to wipe off the smug look on Hermione's face so that the latter knew Sara must be treated with respect. However, she needs to deal with the current situation first. The culprit, Mr Question. She would definitely find that stalker who caused this intense stress to her and take his life.

* * *

 **5th September 2060, Sunday**

Sara is at the radio station again to do her work. This time, she hired the Amanohara Police to assist her. Rather, a selected duo from the Paranormal Crime Investigation Division, abbreviated PCID volunteered to come before she even requested as they were also fans of her.

Those two are Kagami Tetsuo and Nobu Kouji. Their job scopes are mostly unnatural crimes, like Gaia Memory crimes. Apparently, these two are the police detectives from that division. Regardless of the detail, they are preparing to catch the stalker red-handed before he could cause any more casualties.

There were a few people in the room next to the broadcasting room, which is visible through the window. Those people were the support units or technicians for radios. Inside the room was also the DJ, who was on standby. Her manager was very close to the door.

Kagami was standing, as in waiting for someone. Then, Nobu come in without knocking, surprising Katashi as he got pushed unexpectedly but the latter shrugged it off since that was not his main concern.

"Excuse me. The tracer is set. We're ready to start anytime" reported Nobu as he requests additional help from the experts in other divisions to do phone call tracing.

"All right" said Kagami before walking to the front of Sara and face her. "Listen, the next he calls, try to keep the conversation as long as possible" he told her. Apparently, their main strategy was to trace the phone number used by the stalker and from there, they would check with the service providers and singled out the owner of that number.

If the stalker uses cell phone, it would take longer time to trace it correctly. That is just one of the factors. Traffics, topography and distance were also among them. "I understand" said Sara as she stood up. "Officer, I'm counting on you" she told him before walking to the exit. "Let's work well together"

"Please leave it to me, Hime" replied Kagami whisperingly with a creepy looking grin on his face. Katashi the manager also follow suit and handed her a thermos. "Sara-chan. Good luck" he told his managing DJ. "Okay!" replied Sara cheerfully before she went to the broadcasting room while Katashi went off somewhere. The door to the PA room is left open.

That aside, Nobu noticed his superior's weird grin and was uncomfortable with this. "Kagami-san. Your mouth was all stretched out" he pointed out, which his superior panicked and turned serious.

At that time, nobody noticed that Kirito was outside the door to the PA room. "Don't say stupid things! Listen, the next time, the culprit made his call..." Kagami berated and reminded their duty to fulfil. "It will be our best chance to catch his tail" Kirito added as he enters the PA room.

"Indeed. And it will be my chance to catch Hime's heart" agreed Kagami before saying out his own desire. Then, he realised the one who said out what he wanted to say sounded familiar. It sounded like the black swordsman. He looked around and noticed Kirito, an unwanted guest butting in the PA room.

"Kirito!" Kagami gasped, which got Nobu and the mentioned person's attention. "You're coming to interfere again, incompetent detective?!" berated Nobu as he and Kagami approached the black swordsman.

"Sorry... My partner was very much into this, so I got no choice" apologised Kirito and justify. The black swordsman was rather reluctant to investigate this case, especially when he learns how awful Sara was.

However, since a Dopant got involved, whether he like it or not, he had to join in. In addition, Hiro had Kirito do the on the scene investigation, despite the protest the latter had in doing so.

The black swordsman can only whine in his mind that the smart bluenette was a pure blockhead and stubborn. If Kirito were to go against the order, he would hear Hiro's nonsensical nagging to no end.

The main issue now is the black swordsman need to do his work and get it over quick. By that time, someone made a call to the radio station, which the PA staff took it first before connecting it to the broadcast room. He seems surprised before looking at Kagami. "Officer, it's a call from Question" the PA staff told the police detective. "That was fast" replied Kagami and the mood of the room went quiet as the PA staff forwarded the call to the broadcast room.

Sara, who was already on standby with her headphone on, received the call and try to apply the strategy suggested by the police. "Hello" she greeted. "Hey, Princess. Did you like yesterday's present?" asked Question as he greeted the DJ. "Why did you do such a terrible thing?! Don't do that ever again" Sara, worryingly scolded the stalker for causing trouble. As for Kirito, he called Hiro's Stag Phone.

At that time, the bluenette is in the garage, with Silica and Ayumu present.

The one who answered the call was Ayumu while Hiro was in the Planetary Bookshelves, listening to the radio that Silica turned on to the related channel. "He' already in the Planetary Bookshelves" reported Ayumu as she shoved the phone to her brother's ear to hear the conversation near the radio on loudspeaker mode.

Back at the radio, the conversation between Sara and this troublesome stalker continues. "My second question. What is your favourite colour?" Question asked. Sara keep quiet, not willing to answer it. "It's red, right? This time, I will give you a red present" guessed Question as he declares to give her present.

In the Planetary Bookshelves, Hiro is looking over the books while listening to the conversation. Sara seems to protest Question's action, which brings trouble to others. Question seems amused by this and Sara keep scolding his attitude and so on.

"Favourite colour? That keyword alone would not be enough" muttered Hiro. He thought for a bit before something comes to his mind. "Wait a second, what if...?" The bluenette mumbled before he smiled and realised something. "Kirito. Please convey this to Question" Hiro said in the phone.

At the radio station, Kirito heard what the bluenette told him to do. The black swordsman was reluctant because it would be troublesome, but Hiro promise to take responsibility if that happens. "All right. Okay" agreed Kirito before he went to the broadcast room.

"This creepy phone calls are cowardly. Come out and face me fair and square!" Sara demanded. "Hey, you Question jerk!" Kirito called out as he suddenly entered the broadcasting room.

"That idiot! This is being broadcast!" grumbled Kagami as he and Nobu were surprised by the black swordsman act and quickly went to stop him. Of course, even Sara and Question were astonished by the sudden intrusion.

"What is this?!" cried Sara. "Who are you?!" inquired Question angrily. "This is a message from my partner" said Kirito as he spoke through the microphone while pushing Kagami and Nobu away from getting him out.

"You are not qualified to be a fan. If you're Sara-Hime's fan, you should have the presents for question number three and four!" the black swordsman conveyed the message from Hiro.

"Don't make light of me! I am planning to do that anyway!" declared Question in anger before ending the call. There was a short silence until the PA staff to switch to music.

Nobu received a call from the division supporting the police detectives and informed that the number tracing has failed, which made Kagami frustrated. As for Sara, she was silently furious by the sudden intrusion from Kirito.

"Just now, what's the meaning of it?" she questioned. "No idea. I was only doing what I was told" answered Kirito as he shrugged because not even he knew what Hiro was thinking of provoking Question.

"You just waste our chance to catch the culprit!" shouted Sara angrily, which scares the black swordsman, to the point that he stood straight and put his hands to overlap each other. Women are scary when they are angry, regardless if that supposed to be Asuna, Sinon or Lisbeth.

"Um... My partner will definitely catch the culprit" said Kirito politely. "Partner?" echoed Sara. "Kirito!" Hiro called out from the black swordsman phone that was on the table when the latter lean against it.

It got the attention of both the mentioned person and Sara while the former took his phone to speak with the bluenette. "Hiro" Kirito called out. "Hiro?" echoed Sara. "My partner" whispered Kirito.

"I found out what Question is going to do. He wants to light a deep red flame, probably similar to the flames of a candle. The location is Northern Big Island Park. A gas pipeline is underneath that amusement park and Question wants to destroy it" Hiro explained the truth of the riddle made by Question. "Understood. Northern Big Island Park" replied Kirito before he ended the call and left the radio station in a jiffy.

* * *

The black swordsman rode the Hard-Boilder and rushed to the scene where Hiro mentioned, which the place is an amusement park and from afar, the roller coaster stands out. In a few minutes later, screams of terror can be heard from the visitors.

The cause of that was a Dopant, with a grey, bluish muscular and masculine body that has big shards of metal and nails on him. His head was covered with a black, metal helmet that has shards of metal too and it covered the eyes and nose but not the mouth, which formed an eerie grin.

Not the whole body was covered was grey-bluish as some parts of the body, namely, the elbow joints, the right leg and thigh are exposed as nerves. He has a black metal collar, partial gauntlet on the right wrist and greaves.

The end of the left forearm was a black ball of metal while there is a partial disc sticking out from the right side of the waist. On the centre of the chest, there is a black hemisphere on it that represents the core. This Dopant is called Violence.

The muscular Dopant started a coordinated rampage by smashing the ground, which hits the gas pipeline below and caused them to leak. He hits a few spots to let them leak before using the left arm that acts like a wrecking ball and slide with a metal pole nearby to create sparks from the frictions.

The sparks caught up onto the gas and burst into flames, which rises to about 5 metres height and slightly red in colour. The way the flames look like from afar seems to represent the fire lighted on a candle.

"Princess Sara! This is my present for you!" declared Violence smugly. Simultaneously, at the radio station, the staffs there and Sara could see the flames rising from Northern Big Island Park.

"Princess Sara!" yelled Violence with proud for his action. By that time, Kirito arrives and noticed the muscular Dopant because of his loud voice. "So, it's you?!" growled Kirito as he ran towards Violence while equipping the Double Driver.

Hiro at Asaka Detective Agency was alerted and on standby to transform. Silica and Ayumu readied themselves to catch the bluenette's body **"Joker" "Cyclone"** "Henshin!"

 **"Cyclone Joker"** Kirito's body become Cyclone Joker while Hiro's mind teleport to the former. The bluenette's body was caught by the two girls nearby him. Violence noticed the green-black Kamen Rider as the latter rushed and deliver a flying left kick on the former. However, the muscular Dopant did not budge much, which surprises Cyclone Joker.

Regardless, the green-black Kamen Rider continued his attack with normal kicks from the right, left then a right wheel kick. The attacks did not hurt Violence and Cyclone Joker tried to attack with a right kick, only for the former to punch it down with his wrecking ball.

The green-black Kamen Rider or specifically, the black swordsman as the host could feel the pain that almost crush his bone. "So tough!" Kirito cried as he mends his right foot while his left hand holding onto Violence chest.

The muscular Dopant then punched the green-black Kamen Rider, sending him about two metres away. Of course, Kirito felt the pain of being hammered again. "What's wrong?" questioned Violence as he approached Cyclone Joker.

"This guy... is surprisingly tough!" shouted Kirito as he punched the muscular Dopant, one from his right fist and one from the left fist. "Plus, he got monstrous power!" the black swordsman claimed and delivers a kick onto Violence, but it got parried with the wrecking ball arm.

The muscular Dopant then knocked the green-black Kamen Rider to the right, where there is a railing and the latter grab onto it whole being shoved there. "Close range fight is obviously not a good choice against this guy" advised Hiro.

With that in mind, Kirito dodge to his left and away from Violence before he switched out the Joker Memory with Trigger Memory and become Cyclone Trigger. **"Cyclone Trigger"**

The green-blue Kamen Rider took the magnum and shoot at the muscular Dopant rapidly, which knocked him back more than the flying kick. "All right! It's working!" cheered Kirito and continued shooting at Violence.

Suddenly, the muscular Dopant crouched, which in turn makes him become a ball, to the green-blue Kamen Rider's surprise. The left wrecking arm comes out and it started hitting the ground to jump. Since Cyclone Trigger was close to Violence, he got hit, dragged and collided onto the track of the roller coaster. The green-blue Kamen Rider then fall onto the floor and the muscular Dopant left the scene by leaping away as a ball while laughing with triumph.

Cyclone Joker turned his body around where Violence went off while unable to stand because the attack just now was very painful. That goes without saying Kirito was mostly affected by it and he cannot stand immediately. "That really worked on me!" yelped Kirito before he turned around and started moaning from the intense pain.

* * *

That night...

Northern Big Island Park was cordoned off because of the fire. Police are guarding around the yellow tapes to prevent access while rescuers and fire brigades are respectively saving the innocent people that could not escape and put off the fire. Umeda Masako, whose job was a reporter from Voice Out made a live report from the scene just outside the cordoned area.

"All of a sudden, Northern Big Island Park was engulfed in terror. Furthermore, a monster named Mr Question announced he was going to do this on a radio show. Some people protest that Sara Lindsey Elisabeth's show should be cancel" Masako reported.

Simultaneously, at Asaka Detective Agency...

Kirito, Silica, Hiro and Ayumu are tidying up the place while hearing the news on the radio. The bluenette immediately turned off the radio furiously when he heard that Sara was to be blame for all of this. "Shut up! The newspaper, online media and everywhere just said the same thing all over again! But it was not Princess Sara's fault!" Hiro argued frustratingly as he leaned against the wall.

Of course, the other three heard and got their attention focused on the bluenette because of his blustering. "I understand what you feel but frowning won't fix anything" advised Silica while "Onii-chan, you sure like Sara-hime very much" commented Ayumu.

"Well, I used to like her too until I learnt Sara-hime was such a haughty, nasty woman" complained Kirito depressingly while carrying a box with papers on it and placed them nearby the office entrance.

The door suddenly opened, and wind started coming in to blow away the papers that were not superimposed. Ayumu and Silica, who were sitting at the guest inquiry table, got surprised too as the papers on the table were blown away as well with the ones on the box Kirito had just put near the door.

Though, they had a surprised look because someone visited them at night, which no one expected them to be. "Princess Sara!" cried Ayumu and Silica in unison. "Stop it, that won't work on me" scolded Kirito, believing that the girls are deceiving him and picks up the fallen papers on the floor.

The black swordsman did not even realise that they were telling the truth as the DJ idol steps in, as in looking for someone. Not even Hiro realised this as he was distracted with reading inside Planetary Bookshelves through the blank book.

"No, Kirito-san! Look behind you" Silica pointed out. "Behind me?" echoed Kirito before he turned and was surprised himself. It was really that idol, Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. "WAAAAA!" the black swordsman suddenly yelled when seeing the DJ idol, which got Hiro's attention.

Even the bluenette was taken aback from the abrupt visit by Sara and his face turned pale for a moment. _"For real?! She's actually here?! I'm not prepared for this, I better hide!"_ cried Hiro in his mind.

The bluenette looks around panicky, wondering where he should hide. Then he saw to his right was the door to the garage and without wasting time, he sneaked to go there.

"Princess Sara" muttered Kirito. "Where's the detective called Hiro?! Where is he?!" shouted Sara demandingly as she glanced from Kirito then to Silica and Ayumu.

Upon hearing that the idol is looking for Hiro, the said detective opened the door to the garage and went into hiding behind it. Though, before he could shut the door, Sara saw where the bluenette was because of the glance that Kirito, Ayumu and Silica gave from looking to Sara's left.

She saw him from his back running panicky to hide behind the door before shuts it. "I saw you! Don't hide and come out!" yelled Sara as she approached and forcibly opened the door. At that time, Hiro did not expect she saw him went into the garage and just hid behind the door instead of finding a spot to hide within the garage itself.

Hence, when Sara forcibly opened the door using her body as to exert force on it, Hiro got pushed away, making a big gap that is enough for her to lend her right hand inside. The bluenette retaliated out of instinct and try to close the door.

He uses his body to exert force on it. The bluenette manages to push Sara back and narrowed a bit of the gap but the latter unleashed more force to fight back, widening the gap again.

"You got to be kidding me?! What monstrous power!" Hiro screamed in his mind and try to close the door again with his body. This time, he faces towards the door and puts his hands as the exertion force on it. However, since the bluenette did it in a hurry, he accidentally placed his left hand on the wall next to the door, which is visible from the idol's point of view.

Sara noticed this, grabbed Hiro's hand and pulled it. "Got you!" she yelled. The bluenette then noticed the feeling of someone grasping his hand and looked, only for him to mutter, "Uh oh"

Afterwards, Sara focused both her hands and pulled Hiro's hand, specifically on his wrist. "Come out this instant!" ordered Sara aggressively. Kirito, Ayumu, and Silica silently watched the whole exchange while distancing themselves from the DJ idol because of not wanting to be a victim of her rage.

Hiro resisted at first for this but unfortunately the pain started to become intense when he does so. Worried about getting a broken wrist permanently, he does give up and let Sara pulled him out.

The DJ idol, who was still pulling the bluenette then realised Hiro did not resist anymore and easily pulled him out. Maybe, to be blunt, she pulled the bluenette too hard that when she managed to see his face, he ended up pushing her away with his body from the door and down the floor. Of course, those two's screams can be heard when that happened.

Kirito, Ayumu and Silica were surprised when they see what happened and instinctively closed their eyes temporarily to not see them crashing. When the noise settled down, the trio looked back to where those two were and become further astonished, with their mouth slightly gape. In addition, Silica and Ayumu had their face turned flushed.

Hiro fall onto Sara, with the former being mounted. His face falls flat on the floor, to the idol's left while his hands are on the floor. Then, the bluenette was the first one to get up and he started touching his dear face to sooth it. "Ow... That hurts..." moaned Hiro as he soothed the pain on his face before looking at what was before his eyes. His eyes widened when he saw Sara, whose eyes were opened and seemed annoyed, was beneath him. Panicked, he quickly gets off her and apologised, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that! Honest! Forgive me!"

The idol gets up to sit and then sighed out of exhaustion. She wanted to scold Hiro but his pleading for forgiveness somehow calm her anger despite that she wouldn't do such thing even for her stalkers. However, because she wanted to seek Hiro's help, she had to put her anger aside. "Geez, if you hadn't tried to hide and resist, this wouldn't happen in the first place" Sara pointed out exasperatingly. "I'm sorry..." apologised Hiro. "I was not thinking rationally because I didn't expect you to visit the Agency at a time like this"

"Well... I'll let your clumsiness slide this time. More importantly, how did you know where he was going to attack from that hint?" said Sara before asking directly to the point about today's incident.

"Hold on a second" Hiro said as he gets up and went to get something from the worktable. He took out a magazine, which has a title Heaven Life in August and features Sara Lindsey Elisabeth on the cover before going back to the idol, who has now stood.

"Your favourite number, colour. Sara-san only answers those questions in this order from the August article. Question is also following the order for these questions. So, the answers for question three and four are respectively 'Lately, I've been fond of aroma candles' and 'I often go to Northern Big Island Park in September'." explained Hiro as he flipped through the involved pages for Sara to see it clearly.

Kirito and the others listened to the bluenette's explanation and nodded understandably. "I see... so that's the deep red flames like a candle" he concluded. "But I'm still confused. Why is it that Question had to blow up that amusement park as one present for three questions instead of separate three presents like he did for her favourite number, seven?" inquired Silica.

"I've been confused about it initially too when I found out. However, I do have a hunch what he was trying to do. Question wants Sara to witness the answers to those questions as like a real painting. Temporary but worth remembering. If Question wanted to give presents as per this theory, he would make sure Sara-san can see it from where she was. The windmill broke into number 7 is visible from her workplace. Coincidentally, the Northern Wind Island Park is also visible from the radio station. He could have painted things red for her favourite colour, but it would be time consuming and it's pointless if she cannot see it. So, Question give a present that is a constitute of question number 2, 3 and 4 by destroying the gas pipeline to initiate a deep red flame like a candle at Northern Wind Island Park" explained Hiro. "At the very least, that is what I can figure out for now. What Question is going to do next, I can't tell what it is yet because there are only four questions in this August issue, and this is the latest one. The September issue will be released at the middle of this month so I don't know if Question is going to follow the September issue or change his plan, I can't tell"

"But... this alone is amazing! You're much better than the police!" praised Sara before she suddenly grasped Hiro's right hand with both of her hands, surprising the latter. Because of this, the bluenette could hear his heart beating faster all of sudden, as if it is about to explode. While it is normal for him to hold hands with his mother and Ayumu, the sensation that he got from being touched by Sara is on a different level since they are strangers.

"Please. Catch that stalker" Sara pleaded. "Okay" Hiro nervously replied and nodded. "It's a promise" vowed Sara before she lets go of the bluenette's hand and walked away. The idol glanced at Kirito and the others and said, "Excuse me"

Afterwards, Sara opened the door and left the office before wind started blowing inside like a storm. Ayumu quickly get the door and closed it. "She left like a storm" described Ayumu.

"See? That's how Sara-hime is. Forceful, and selfish" sighed Kirito before announcing that to Hiro, who was in a standstill. "She's amazing" the bluenette muttered, which got everyone's attention and their astonished reaction, makes them want to cry 'What?!'. "What a complicated inside and mysterious feeling. I'm in head over heels for her!" cried Hiro excitedly.

Kirito and the others sweat dropped when hearing the bluenette's opinion. Honestly, they are in not in the same page as Hiro or rather the exact opposite. "As always, Onii-chan is a blockhead in finding love" muttered Ayumu as she chuckled awkwardly.

"I'm worried that Hiro-san would get betrayed" Silica pointed out. "Silica, Ayumu. I believe we should keep what happened tonight between us for the time being" suggested Kirito, which the girls nodded. While they were discussing, Hiro was in a daydream that he did not even hear what they said.

* * *

 **6th September 2060 Monday**

At Breezing Wave Radio Station, Sara and the staffs are preparing to move out for outdoor broadcast. A male staff, who works in the PA room is explaining their schedule for today. While he was explaining, Kirito passed next to the staff and took the paper for a glimpse.

"You again?! Trespasser!" berated the staff towards Kirito as he grabbed back the paper from the black swordsman. On top of that, he even pushed Kirito away out of anger for his interference yesterday. It was only because of Sara intervening that the staff stop taking out the anger on the black swordsman.

"Wait. He's coming along for the interview. A detective's sidekick" explained Sara, which somehow annoys the black swordsman. "Sidekick?!" echoed Kirito in disbelief. "Let's get along..." said Sara before she walked to her manager and angrily step on his feet, while she was wearing heels at that time. Katashi's face become pale and try not to yelp when the idol he is managing do that to him.

"Katashi! I thought I told you to explain that to everyone!" Sara whisperingly scolded. "Sorry..." yelped Katashi. Kirito noticed that the manager did not look good and approached him while Sara backs off. "What's wrong? You don't look so well" asked the black swordsman.

"Oh... no. My stomach been feeling bad since morning" said Katashi, which made the idol grabbed him. "Again?! Forgot about the recording and hurry to the hospital!" Sara ordered worriedly. Upon hearing Sara was concerned, Katashi could only nodded and apologised before leaving. Likewise, even Sara apologised for the trouble, which the other staffs do not seemed to mind.

"Sara" a familiar female voice called out, which got the idol's attention. She looked and saw it was Umeda Masako, her senior in the DJ job. "Hosting the special show is the proof that you're Breezing Wave number one DJ. Good luck" said Masako before wishing the best for her junior. "Thank you very much, Masako-san" thanked Sara with a bow.

* * *

Later...

The broadcast team headed to their first destination, which is Wind Flower Manju. Apparently, the broadcasting content is promoting several sweet shops. "It's 1 p.m.! This is Sara Lindsey Elisabeth's Soothing Princess. Today, we have a special. We will visit Amanohara's popular best three sweet shops!" announced Sara excitingly before entering Wind Flower Manju shop.

A little bit later, they serve the special guest with mochi (a lookalike with Manju but different way or ingredients to make it). Sara took a bite and seems to enjoy it. "Delicious! This is the best mochi!" she complimented.

"So that I don't disgrace the name of the original Wind Flower Manju. I plan to do my best with my parents!" said Kyouko. At that the black swordsman was there too, leaning on the wall near the door. "You're one to talk, considering what a hooligan you become" snarked Kirito, referring to what happened last time.

Previously, Lisbeth, Kirito, and Ayumu went to investigate Asami Kyouko on her parents' request because she got hooked into gambling at Million Colloseo, a casino that where anyone can be winner.

Kyouko was one of them and earns the right to challenge the House, or specifically, the owner, Kane Kakeru. The owner was an expert with gambling. Not to mention that House's roulette board had the advantage compare to normal ones.

Kyouko loses so easily, to the point that she accepts the offer of Kakeru to use her life as collateral and still loses. Since winners' rule, the owner become Money Dopant and stored Kyouko's life inside a coin.

While Kirito and the rest managed to stop Kakeru and free the victims, the debts that each victim owe was not fully abolished. Hence, they had to pay for it within time.

Kyouko glanced to the black swordsman and smile before the latter noticed and nod. She nodded back and focused to where Sara and the others were. "I'll bring some to the staffs" said Kyouko which the staffs from Breezing Wave thanked her for it.

The black swordsman smiled and did not have the heart to ruin Kyouko's mood. "Well, I'm glad that she is smiling" muttered Kirito. "Eat a lot and tell your friends" said Kyouko as she serves more mochi and Manju and the other staffs thanked her for it.

Suddenly, while Sara was eating, she suddenly stopped and began coughing to no stop. Apparently, she ate too fast and got choked. The staffs and the workers in the shop was worried and asked if she is okay until they heard her begging for a cup of tea.

Of course, Kyouko quickly get a small bowl of tea from her parents. The other staffs chuckled amusingly, and the leader declared that it is time for commercials. Then, the other staff asked if the DJ Idol is okay, which she nodded and they all can tell she eat too fast without properly chewing the mochi and got choked.

Kyouko then arrived and gave Sara a small bowl of tea for her to relief the food choking. The DJ idol then apologised for worrying everyone nearby and they were all glad that it was nothing serious like food poisoning of the such.

The phone in the shop rang and Kyouko quickly went to pick it up. "Yes, Wind Flower Manju" she greeted before listening to the caller before gasping, "Eh? Mr Question?!"

Upon learning that, the black swordsman took out his phone and called his partner. "Here it comes, Hiro" said Kirito. At the garage in Asaka Detective Agency, Silica, Ayumu and Hiro were on standby for the call. "All right, it's a duel with him" declared Hiro as he went into the Planetary Bookshelves. Back at where Kirito was, Sara take over from the phone which Kyouko picked up while Kirito put the stag phone close to her so the bluenette and the girls can eavesdrop without Question's knowledge. "Hey, Sara-hime. That was rather great. I really laughed a lot" praised Question.

"Getting eulogised from you does not please me one bit" retorted Sara. "So, tell me. What's your favourite scenery?" inquired Question, which surprises Sara. "Favourite scenery? That..." she wanted to answer but halted because something stops her from saying it.

"No need to respond. I'll make it so you can gaze at that scene any time" said Question before ending the call. Kirito, upon noticing that Sara put away the phone then talked to his partner through his phone on the other side.

"What do you think, Hiro?" he asked. "Kirito, let me confirm it with Sara-san herself" requested Hiro. "Okay" said Kirito before handing over the phone to Sara. "It's from Hiro"

"What was the answer to that question?" asked Hiro, referring to what Question told the idol. "Amanohara Tower" answered Sara. "Don't tell me, he is going to steal Amanohara Tower?!" guessed Kirito in horror.

"That is out of the question. Something that hardly structured cannot be moved, without destroying it" explained Hiro as he pondered, wondering what Question is trying to do.

"Wait, could it be...? Sara-san, from where do you like to gaze Amanohara Tower?" mumbled Hiro before asking the idol. "From my room at home" answered Sara. "Can you still see it now?" asked Hiro. "I can't, since the last two years" answered Sara depressingly. "Last keyword... 2 years ago" muttered Hiro as he inputted the mentioned keyword.

From there, Hiro got the book which was filtered from the keywords used. He takes the book and read it. "I see. Two years ago, Amanohara Building 7 was erected between Sara-san's home and Amanohara Tower. He wants to destroy that" explained Hiro.

"Amazing! You truly are a great detective that I expected!" praised Sara when she heard the bluenette's deduction. "Thank you very much" thanked Hiro with a bow. Then, Sara passed over the Stag Phone back to Kirito.

"All right, I'm going to Amanohara Building 7" said Kirito. "Wait! The next shop we are going is over there" Sara informed him. "That guy is going to ruin this show!" warned Kirito before he ran off, leaving to the location targeted by the culprit. Sara became frown when she heard about this. "Why must that guy anger me?" she grumbled, referring to Question's action.

* * *

A few minutes later...

The unknown stalker appeared about 500 metres in front of Amanohara Building 7. Then, he uses his Gaia Memory to become Violence. The muscular Dopant then charges forward and when his speed reaches his max, he launches the left arm like a real wrecking ball to destroy his targeted building.

However, Cyclone Metal leaped and intercepted by deflecting the ball away from the building. "What?!" gasped Violence when he saw his attack was nullified. "This time I made it in time" said Kirito and initiate Memory Change. **"Heat Metal"**

"Don't get in my way! My feelings for Sara-hime" snarled Violence as he and Heat Metal charged towards each other. The red-grey Kamen Rider did a diagonal swing from the top right, then top left, and bottom left. "Bunch of nonsense!" retorted Kirito as he fought back against Violence. "Because of your actions, lots of innocent people got hurt!"

"I don't care! Love requires sacrifice!" declared Violence as he got beaten by Heat Metal. The red-grey Kamen Rider continued on smacking the muscular Dopant, getting him away from the involved building and got punched with fiery fist.

Violence was sent flying about 20 metres from the punch. Then, he turned into a ball, bounced a few times before leaping towards Heat Metal to turn him flat. However, RevolGarry arrived and rammed at the ball head on, sending it flying and away from the red-grey Kamen Rider.

Unfortunately for Violence, Hiro had learned his Gaia Memory's true name and come out with the necessary countermeasures. The bluenette simply concluded that if the opponent is a ball, you just need to hit him with a bat, like baseball. "Nice follow" Kirito said as he jumped to the front of RevolGarry while holding his Stag Phone. Looks like he summoned it before arriving to the fight.

"Damn you!" growled Violence before he dashed towards Heat Metal, who also did the same. Before the two of them could start delivering blows on each other, a fiery orange blast came from above, surprising and made both sides to go astern.

The two opponents then looked up to their respective left and right before noticing who was the interferer. It was Clay Doll, an enemy Commander from the organisation and she was standing on top of a flat platform.

Hiro and Kirito knew about her, but the muscular Dopant did not. "I finally found you, disturbing maggot!" proclaimed Clay Doll. "Who are you?!" scowled Violence. "Shut up, filth!" retorted Clay Doll before she started blasting energy balls at the muscular Dopant to no end, hurting him.

Kirito and Hiro were stunned from what they saw. They initially thought Clay Doll was there to cause more trouble by joining forces with Violence. However, their thoughts were proven wrong when the terracotta Dopant attacked the muscular Dopant, her own ally.

It makes them wonder if Clay Doll had a grudge on Violence for what he did. Regardless, she is going overboard and causes damage from unrestrained attacks and they must stop her before she ended up killing innocent person.

"Hey! You..." Kirito called out to the terracotta Dopant, whose unhappy face suggest she glared at him when she turned to her caller. "Don't address me so casually!" barked Clay Doll before she jumped down to Heat Metal to smack him with her right round fist.

The red-grey Kamen Rider blocked it with the staff, and then move to the left then to the right to avoid the next punching and back smacking. Heat Metal then turned to face Clay Doll and swing the Metal Shaft from left to right continuously, which she avoids them.

During the fight, Junnosuke arrived and watched the fight about 100 metres away. Apparently, he was worried about his little sister in law, Sara, who was Clay Doll and come to check on her.

"Violence Dopant and Kamen Rider too?" muttered Junnosuke before chuckling amusingly. "I came out of concern. What an amazing situation" he stated before watching the fight again.

The red-grey Kamen Rider blocked every punching attack from terracotta Dopant and fall flat temporarily when she shoots an energy ball at him. Then, Heat Metal get up and deflect Clay Doll's left arm when she tried to blast them. The terracotta Dopant then delivers a right punch and the red-grey Kamen Rider blocked it with his right palm, grabbing her fist.

Suddenly, everything becomes a standstill, at least for Hiro and he saw some strange vision when Heat Metal held Clay Doll's hand. Apparently, he saw two hands. One is holding a big stone and try to lob it at someone, but the other hand stops it. He could tell that each hand is from different people because both are right hands and the colour of sleeves are different.

The standstill then stops, making the bluenette come to reality. "What is this sensation?" muttered Hiro as Heat Metal's right eye blinks. However, the fight continues with Clay Doll pushing back with her right fist and Heat Metal avoiding the incoming blows from her.

While they were fighting, Violence, who was sent flying walked with some difficulty to the scene and 150 metres away from them. "Whoever you are... I won't let you get in my way!" declared Violence as he turned into a ball and bounce to those two. Heat Metal noticed this and retreat a few steps, but Clay Doll was too late to act when she realised it because the ball literally destroyed her into pieces like broken flowerpots when he falls on her.

Junnosuke, Kirito and Hiro were shocked with what just happened. Clay Doll literally got killed by Violence. "Sara-chan..." gasped Junnosuke worriedly. "She's been pulverised" muttered Hiro. The ball turned back into muscular Dopant and laughed proudly. This is what you get for interfering with me is what everyone can tell.

However, the red-grey Kamen Rider was next on the list of victims for the muscular Dopant as he turns to the former. "Next one is you!" declared Violence as he turned into a ball again and leaped towards Heat Metal. The red-grey Kamen Rider backs off and RevolGarry comes from the side before batting at the incoming ball, sending it flying again and turned into Violence. This time, it is the muscular Dopant that feels the pain he gave Kirito yesterday. He feels it on the back waist. Realising that he would lose, Violence believe the next course of action is to retreat.

"I'm going to remember this!" barked Violence as he left the scene. "Wait! Trying to run?!" yelled Kirito as he chases after the Muscular Dopant. However, Heat Metal's steps were halted when he almost accidentally steps on the shards which Hiro stops his partner.

It happens at that time. The broken pieces of Clay Doll suddenly moved on its own and gathered, forming her complete body again. "Ah... I let my guard down" Clay Doll sighed. "She regenerated?!" gasped Hiro. Even Junnosuke was puzzled and wonder what is going on. He then remembers his wife's words about how Sara would not die when she goes all out on her little sister. "So that's what she meant" Junnosuke muttered understandably before leaving.

"That guy! The next time we met, I'll definitely finished him off!" howled Clay Doll before leaving as well. "Wait!" Hiro called out, which the terracotta Dopant glanced briefly before leaving grumpily because she had no mood of continuing the fight. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Kirito with concern. There was a short silence, about 20 seconds. "No... It might just be my imagination..." replied Hiro.

* * *

10 minutes later...

Kirito returned to Amanohara Building 7 where the next shooting is being held at. The shop they went is Ashihara Pastry Cafe. Of course, like the previous shop, it was the customer of Asaka Detective Agency for a case. It was the Sweets Dopant case taking place at Sara's home where a maid of that mansion was a food critic and once wanted to make her own sweets and a bakery of her own. However, her business did not go well and had to close it. It was then, she instead become obsesses of eating finest sweets and kidnapped talented patissiers, including Ashihara Keiko and her father that came to the mansion for her own greed. Thanks to Suguha and Ayumu, they were able to find where the kidnap patissiers were and saved them while Kirito and Hiro do Memory Break on that insane maid. That incident was what improves the siblings' bond between Hiro and Ayumu.

In this segment, Katashi the manager was present as well. "This is our special, eclair fruit" introduced Keiko to her dish. It was a bread like burger sweets which had a few types of fruits and butter in it. The top was sprinkled with fine sugar of the sort.

"Wow! Just what you expect from the bakery of the famous patissier Chef Ashihara. It looks most delicious" commented Sara with amazement on the dish. "So, this is the live broadcast of Sara Lindsey Elisabeth's Soothing Princess. Walking around and eat sweets. The next store is the last one" concluded Sara before the staff leader declared that music is playing for those who were listening or watching the broadcast.

They all complimented Sara for her well-done job. "Sara-san, don't lose to that heartless bullying" cheered Keiko. Apparently, she learnt a thing or two about courage from Suguha and Ayumu. "Thank you, Keiko-san" thanked Sara.

As for Kirito who was watching, he started pondering. _"This incident began with a mysterious phone call. Stalking the popular DJ Sara Lindsey Elisabeth... who is this criminal that made the city cried?"_ he asked himself curiously in his mind while having the same thinking as Hiro.

The phone in the store suddenly rang, which Keiko excuses herself to answer the call. "Yes. This is Ashihara Pastry Cafe..." the chef greeted before she suddenly went quiet. Apparently, Sara could guess who the caller was.

"It's from Question, right?" She deduced, which Keiko nodded before allowing Sara to take over. Kirito quickly come closer and placed the Stag Phone near the idol to eavesdrop on the call. "Yo, Princess! I had some unexpected interference just now, so I could not give you a beautiful scene as a present. I'm sure you wanted to see it badly. Soon, I'll give you the ultimate present" said Question. "What could it be?" asked Sara. "No hint this time" answered Question before ending the call. Sara returned the phone back to Keiko while Kirito discuss with Hiro. "What do you think, Hiro?" asked Kirito while Sara eavesdrop to hear it.

"He made an incontrovertible mistake. First, the previous call about Amanohara Tower was not in any of the previous interviews' answers. Plus, the phrasing 'you wanted to see it badly' in the call just now gives an evident hint" explained Hiro.

The black swordsman can guess what the bluenette is implying. "Does that mean, the culprit was someone who Sara-hime knew?" hypothesised Kirito. "Exactly. Mr Question is someone who asked this in person. He isn't just an engrossed fan but also someone close to Sara-san" Hiro added. "What?!" gasped Kirito before he puts off the phone and started looking around, wondering who that stalker was.

Based on what Hiro told him, Kirito could only guess the suspects had narrowed down to Sara's co-workers. However, it cannot be the staffs involved in the shooting because he remembered that none of them left the scene when the call was made. They all had solid alibis.

Kirito could only guess that Sara's co-worker is someone who can move freely without raising suspicions. However, Kirito could not think of anyone who can do such thing with strong reasons to suspect them.

The first suspect he thought of was Oshiro Katashi, Sara's manager. He was absent when the call was made, can move freely and those are suspicious enough for people to suspect him. However, if his stomach-ache was no mere lie, he cannot be the Dopant as Hiro explained that the any pain damaged the human felt with not vanished if he or she becomes a Dopant.

Next one in his mind was Umeda Masako, Sara's senior as she was not attending the session of Sara's broadcast. However, Question behaviour heavily indicates that the gender was male rather than female. While using some voice changer device would do, Kirito could not imagine that Masako was a tomboy of any sort or had some fetish of into the someone of the same gender, which is unthinkable and impossible on the latter guess. They seemed to be in a good relation, but he cannot tell if Masako had a grudge on Sara.

"Sara-chan! Sara-chan!" a familiar male voice cried out worriedly as he entered the scene and approached Sara. It was Oshiro Katashi, Sara's manager and his worrying voice distracted Kirito's pondering.

The idol thanked Keiko, ignored her manager and left the cafe off to somewhere in a hurry. "Where are you going?" asked Katashi. "The washroom!" cried Sara, as if scolding everyone who watched her could not tell where she is going without spelling it out.

* * *

Simultaneously at Asaka Detective Agency...

After hearing Hiro's deduction, his little sister could not stand there and wait. "Right now, the culprit might be near Sara-hime! As a chief, I must take control of the situation. Let's go, Silica-chan!" declared Ayumu as she grabbed the twin-tailed hair girl's hand and pulled her to follow.

"Ayumu-chan, wait!" cried Silica as she struggled to catch up and being pulled by Hiro's little sister. The bluenette did not bother stopping his sister. Rather something bugs his mind that he could not fathom about this incident.

"Yui" Hiro called out and the little pixie in hologram pop out on his left shoulder. "You call for me?" asked Yui. "I need you to hack into Breezing Wave database and retrieve the data of the workers there, past and current if possible. Also, I would like any news in online involving that company up to date. Send them to my computer" requested Hiro, which surprises the little girl.

Usually, the bluenette can use Planetary Bookshelves do searching like that and bypass all securities easily by asking Earth for answers. Yui and Strea are top-down artificial intelligence, which the former was capable of hacking and analysis while the latter is capable of fighting.

What makes her curious is that the bluenette is far capable than them. What reason would he suddenly ask her to retrieve information from servers and computers?

"This is quite sudden. Usually, Hiro-san is more well-rounded in things like this, more than me and Strea" Yui pointed out. "I know it's illogical for me to request something like this from you, but I rather not exposed to Sara-san that I had the Planetary Bookshelves ability. Specifically, I would like reliable materials that would help me explain my deductions. Otherwise, she might think I made up things to pin the blame on someone. In any case, lend me your strength. I'll explain what I figured out up until now and we'll solve this together" explained Hiro. "Okay, I understand" Yui replied with a salute.

* * *

30 minutes later...

At Amanohara Building 7, the staffs are packing their items to go at the last stop. The black swordsman was waiting for someone, specifically Sara. The staffs were worried since she went too long and Katashi the manager went to check her.

"Sara-hime sure is late..." muttered Kirito. It was then, Katashi came out running from the entrance with a worried look. "Big trouble!" he yelled while approaching Kirito. "Sara... Sara is gone!" cried Katashi. "Eh?!" shouted Kirito with a surprised look.

* * *

At Asaka Detective Agency...

Hiro and Yui are looking over the information the latter retrieved. The bluenette printed some of them, specifically, the faces of the workers at Breezing Wave with names and position on the organisation charts.

The bluenette cut those photos with scissors while he wrote the connection on a moveable whiteboard. He also explained to Yui what he had gather until now along with telling her that if Sara were to come, he would blink his left eye that he will enter Planetary Bookshelves, so she needs to keep Sara busy without saying anything unnecessary. Of course, Hiro expressed his uncertainties regarding the case, which Yui might be able to figure out the answer or hint to solve it.

"So, Hiro-san could not figure out why the culprit do things like this?" Yui rephrased after hearing what Hiro told her. "Yes. I can understand the stalker wants to made Sara-san his possession. But the actions were too open for public. And I feel there is more than meets the eye" Hiro explained.

The little girl pondered for a minute, wondering what Hiro meant. Then, she somehow figures out something. "Hiro-san said Question's actions are too open for public, right?" asked Yui for clarification. "Yes" confirmed Hiro.

"Well, if Question succeeds in doing what he wants and things gone worst, Sara Lindsey Elisabeth would be lay off from her job or she was forced to resign. If I were to guess, maybe there's a mastermind who wanted to steal her job" suggested Yui.

Upon hearing the little girl's conjecture, the bluenette begin to see the big picture. "That's it. That's what bothers me about this case. The culprit's actions do not seem to be on his own volitions. If there is someone who threatened him, it all makes sense" concurred Hiro as he explained his worries.

"So, Question was not acting on his own volition but being ordered by someone?" said a familiar female voice, which the bluenette recognised. "Yes, that's what I believe, Sara-san" Hiro agreed and said the name of the female voice.

The bluenette then realised what he said and looked around. He saw Sara at the doorstep. "Sara-san!" gasped Hiro. "What are you doing here?" he asked while surprised. "You said the culprit is someone closed to me, right? I came here to ask that and help what I can for you to figure out" answered Sara.

"Very well... Before that, let me introduce you to this girl" said Hiro as he referred to Yui, whose hologram was on the round table near Hiro's laptop. "My name is Yui. Let's get along" the little girl introduced herself. "This girl is Kirito's virtual navigator and he loved her as his daughter. Despite her small size, she's totally awesome and reliable" explained Hiro.

"Let's get along, Yui-chan" said Sara. "Okay" replied Yui. "All right. With the introductions finished, let's get to the topic at hand. First, I'll recap about this case. A mysterious caller by the alias Question caused chaos in the city from his present declaration for Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. From there, I figured out that Question follows Sara-san's answers in monthly interviews. But, today, his actions weren't representing any of the recent or previous interview answers. And when he said Sara-san wanted to view Amanohara Tower from her home so badly, this what makes me confident that Question was in fact Sara-san's acquaintance. If so, the suspects are the staffs at Breezing Wave Station, especially the ones that Sara-san often talk to" Hiro began and explained the situation.

"First, we need to uncover Question's identities. Since Sara-san is here, we can ask her directly what we don't know" suggested Yui. As proposed by Hiro, he blink his left eye at the little girl, signalling he is going to enter Planetary Bookshelves. The bluenette faces the whiteboard, hold a marker pen and acted as if he was pondering in Sara's eyes.

"Sara-san, do you remember who or when you were asked about your favourite scenery?" asked Hiro. The idol began pondering about what answer she should give when she tries to recall if she was ask such a question in the past. Though, she did have an idea when she was asked about it but not from whom. "Speaking of which, I think it was when I audition for this show..." answered Sara softly.

"Keyword: Violence Memory. Soothing Princess audition. Distorted Love" Hiro inputted the keywords without letting his voice out in reality. The non-related books and shelves started going away, leaving only one book left for the question he wanted to know the answer for. Obviously, it was the culprit's identity. The bluenette took and read the book. After a few minutes, he closed the book and return to reality. "I believe I had an idea who was the culprit" said Hiro, which got the girls' attention.

* * *

Back at the Amanohara Building 7...

Most of the staffs were worried with Sara's sudden MIA (Missing in Action). Ayumu and Silica had arrived, and both heard the story from Kirito. Upon hearing that Sara went missing, the Chief was not very happy about this and grabbed the black swordsman's left ear.

"What do you mean Sara-hime went missing?!" questioned Ayumu angrily. "Ow! Ow! I said I don't know!" answered Kirito while yelping. Beside him was Katashi, who was holding onto Kirito's right arm.

Silica tried to stop the Chief but to no avail. "If Mr Question took her, what are you going to do?!" scolded Ayumu as she pulled Kirito's ear hard, making a crack sound in the process. "That's too terrible!" Katashi stated worriedly.

While Kirito was trying to sooth the pain on his left ear, his right hand ended up hitting the manager's stomach by accident, causing him to convulse backward as the pain on his stomach started again. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Katashi yelped as he holds onto his dear stomach. "Me too. Ow! Ow! Ow!" followed Kirito as he does the same but on his ear.

"If she does not return in time, we'll need a substitute" said the staff leader. "A substitute? Could it be... Ayumu-hime debut?" muttered Ayumu before she acted excitingly on her own delusion of being an idol. "Oh no... I didn't hear anything about this" she mumbled further and quiver her body left to right repeatedly. "Why do you think you are the substitute?" Silica snarked in her mind while sweat dropped about the idea of Ayumu being an idol, especially with her violent personality.

Then, a silver car arrived in front of the group and someone came out from the front passenger seat. That person was Umeda Masako and she approaches the group, which the staffs mostly seemed relieved.

"Thanks for waiting" she said. "I'm sorry for calling you so suddenly" the staff leader apologised, which the blonde shook her head. "No. Just MC in Sara's place, right?" asked Masako. Upon hearing that, Hiro's sister froze in place. "Eh?!" gasped Ayumu. As for Kirito, he smirked when seeing Ayumu's reaction and she made him pay by smacking his face with a green slipper.

* * *

Back to Asaka Detective Agency...

Hiro explained his deductions to Sara. Of course, about the culprit and who was the mastermind for this case. "I see... so that's how it is" replied Sara, which the bluenette and the little AI girl remained silent.

"Can I ask you something, Sara-san?" requested Hiro. "Sure" approved Sara. "Before this incident, did anyone try to kill you before?" asked Hiro. There was a short silent from the maroon hair girl. A minute later, she replied, "Yes. Many times,"

The bluenette and Yui were stunned to hear this. "Who? For example?" asked Hiro. "My elder sister" answered Sara, which made Hiro and Yui widened their eyes in shock. "Your Onee-san? How come a family member try to kill each other? That's rather scary" Yui softly pointed out. To her, comprehended that family members naturally should love each other. Regardless of what mistakes one makes and get scolded, that is because they cared for each other. Just like how she is with Kirito and Asuna.

Anyhow, since Yui was there, Sara thinks of her words carefully to reply. "My family is special. My father is always busy with his work. My elder sister helped him. As for me, I was always free as I wanted. My older sister did not like it and she often bullied me. In other words, she hated me" she explained.

Hiro and Yui were speechless from hearing the idol's story. "Sorry... I didn't mean to pry in your personal life" the bluenette made the first move and apologised. "I'm fine" replied Sara.

"I'm frustrated and angry, but my little brother stops me when I tried to hurt Onee-chan. 'If you do that, you are not being the real Sara Onee-chan'. Mysteriously, hearing that from him made my anger vanished" she explained. "In other words, your little brother was your brake" deduced Hiro. "But he's no more..." said Sara despondently. "I see..." replied Hiro softly. Sara look at her wristwatch and noticed that it is 2 pm. She had another shooting to be done at 2.15 so she needs to leave right away. "Then, I'll need to return for my work" said Sara before she turned and walked towards the door. "Wait" Hiro called out suddenly, which got the idol's attention.

"I don't know what you had been through in your life, but I just want to say this. If you were to confront the culprits, just don't let your anger get the better of you. The moment you hurt someone you care or take someone's live; you will lose the kindness in yourself. I understand there are people who really don't regret hurting others and makes you frustrated. However, you should let the law judge those bad people. Getting revenge on them personally would not make your pain go away. I know this might be hard for you but if you give in to your hatred, it will change your personality and image as a whole" he explained. "Please, keep that in mind..."

Sara only kept quiet for a few seconds but then left without giving a reply. Yui on the other hand, was stunned about the bluenette's speech. All of that come out of the blue and she could not understand the context of it.

"Hiro-san, what was that all about?" asked Yui, which got the bluenette's attention. "Oh, that. I didn't really know myself and it came out spontaneously. Kirito, Ayumu and Silica-chan told me that Sara-san had a belligerent personality, but I refused to believe that. But, her eyes seem to be clouded with hatred after we told her who were the culprit and mastermind. I thought she might even take their lives and become belligerent herself. That's probably the reason, I believe" explained Hiro.

"Is that so..." replied Yui softly. "Anyhow, thank you for assisting me. Leave the rest to me and Kirito. You can go rest" said Hiro. "Okay. See you later" Yui replied before her hologram vanished. As for Hiro, he focused his mind and entered the Planetary Bookshelves. "Begin lookup... Keyword:..." he muttered and started inputting.

* * *

10 minutes later...

Kirito, Silica and Ayumu went to a building that is under construction since the Breezing Wave staffs went there. Nearby the site was Windy Ramen cart. Though, as they walked towards the cart, Rhythm come alongside them. "This is the last shooting location?" muttered Kirito. "Let's get along" said Rhythm excitingly.

"Why are you here?" asked Kirito annoyingly. "This Master here is a poor speaker. So that's why, his regular customer came to represent him, uh-huh!" answered Rhythm smugly. "But, I thought this was a sweets shop promotion? This is a ramen shop" asked Silica curiously.

"Good for you to ask that, Silica-chan" said Rhythm as they approached the cart. Upon realising that, the informant clapped his hands to grab everyone's attention. "Hey, Master! I would like to have that special ramen" requested Rhythm.

In a few minutes later, the informant takes a seat and was served a ramen. This ramen is a little different than the usual ramen this shop serves. Apart from the big Naruto covering the bowl, there are whipped cream, chocolate bamboo slices, chocolate egg, pork belly with red bean paste.

"Sweets Ramen!" declared Rhythm excitingly. Everyone else around him and the ramen owner were stunned with the dish. Obviously, anyone would be mined blown and speechless seeing a dish like this.

After all, ramen is a salty type dish, generally, which one add soy sauce for example. While you can eat confectionaries and normal food for energy in the same mealtime, they are in different plates.

But, having them both on the same plate is rather weird. Not to mention, ramen had its salty soup and if they become saturated, it will taste weird. Though, if one thinks rationally, the sweets are not in the soup but as topping on the Naruto, meaning it is a dessert before main meal instead of an appetiser.

"Let's eat!" declared Rhythm but one of the stopped him and informed that they had not begun the recording yet. "Sorry to keep you waiting" a familiar female voice came from their left side, which got their attention. They saw Sara approaching.

Everyone else was glad that she was all right, more than anything else. Any of the staffs would had ask the reason and where did she go off to but now, the recording takes priority. Once that is settled, it would be more important.

"Masako-senpai. I'm sorry for making everyone worry" apologised Sara. The blonde smile and then approached the maroon hair before giving her the microphone. "It's fine. Do a proper job, Sara-chan" said Masako. "Okay" replied Sara.

Hence, with the idol arrived, they prepared to record. Once they are ready, the recording began. "This is Windy Ramen's special dish, Sweets Ramen. Will you, Rhythm, the regular customer explained about this dish?" asked Sara before placing the microphone near the regular customer. "Thick natural whipped cream. Mixed with the noodles, it's a miraculous representation of sweetness. Plus, chocolate bamboo slices, chocolate egg. Pork belly with red bean paste inside. It's a miraculous harmony! Yes!" explained Rhythm passionately before ending it. "Okay! If you are brave, please try it! This is Sara Lindsey Elisabeth coming to you from the famous Windy Ramen!" concluded Sara elatedly.

"All right. Okay!" said the staff leader, signalling the end of recording. "Okay" replied Sara. With the recording ended and formalities, the staffs get ready to pack up their equipment to the van, return them to the company before possibly going home. Ayumu, Silica and Kirito looks around, be on alert for Question. Rhythm started eating Sweets Ramen at his own leisure.

"Looks like nothing bad happened" said Ayumu. "No, we can't let our guard down yet" Kirito replied calmly. The black swordsman was right about keeping their guard up because they soon heard a phone's ringtone buzzing nearby.

Sara and her co-workers look around themselves, wondering whose phone was ringing. Then, everyone noticed that Windy Ramen's Master was the one involved. The owner took out his phone, answer the call but did not say anything.

Instead after hearing the caller from the other side, he quietly passed his phone to Sara. The idol immediately knew the caller can only be Mr Question, who had called the previous shops for his advance notice and picked up the phone from Master.

"Hello?" Sara greeted. "Yo, Princess! I am about to give you the ultimate present" said Question excitedly. There was a short silence, about 5 seconds before the idol's expression turned cold-blooded with determination. "You can keep that to yourself... Katashi" replied Sara.

The mentioning of a name surprises everyone else, especially Kirito who eavesdropped right next to the idol. That name was familiar to everyone who knows this person. "Katashi?! That manager?!" gasped Kirito. "Hey! What are you talking about?!" snarled Question. "There's no need for any more charade, Katashi. You have lost" retorted Sara.

There was a short silence afterwards from Question's side before he lets out a laughter, one that is loud enough for everyone to hear without putting master's phone to loudspeaker mode.

The laugh continues on until Question appear from behind Breezing Wave van, revealing his true form. As said by Sara, it was indeed her manager, Oshiro Katashi. He wore a long grey coat over his work attire and in his left hand was a white phone with a voice changer microphone. The manager soon frowns as soon as he stops laughing. "I don't want that!" growled Katashi as he puts away his phone. "I've done a lot for you!"

The staffs from Breezing Wave were stunned and speechless. They never had thought or imagine the culprit was one of their own co-workers. Because to them, Katashi never seems the type to hold a grudge but maybe they were wrong about that part.

The black swordsman stood in front of the idol and place a protective arm over her. "That's as far as you go. Surrender yourself!" demanded Kirito. The manager was not please that someone tried to get in his way. Hence, he decided to become a Dopant. "Move out of the way! This is a problem between me and her!" barked Katashi as he took out his Gaia Memory. It is red and had an initial V that shaped like an armed, whose hand tries to grab coercively, which also synonyms with its name, Violence. **"Violence"**

The manager inserted the Gaia Memory into the Living Connector on the back of his left hand, transforming himself into Violence. Everyone else apart from Kirito, Sara, Silica and Ayumu jumps in panic and fear. They all began fleeing from the scene.

Violence launches his wrecking ball towards Kirito. The black swordsman pushes Sara away to his right and dodge rolling to his left. Silica and Ayumu ran backwards to avoid it. The ball did not hit anyone except breaking into the construction sheet on constructed building.

Violence then turned into a ball, leaped to where Sara was, temporarily become humanoid form, grabbed her, become a ball again and flee from the scene. "Oh no!" gasped Kirito as he realised what happened and gave chase. He takes on the Double Driver and puts on his waist, which becomes a belt.

* * *

A few minutes before, Asaka Detective Agency...

Hiro was inside Planetary Bookshelves, doing lookup. He inputted the necessary keywords, which finally left with only one book. The book title was Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. The bluenette's attention was to learn about the idol's private life. He reached out his hand and grabbed the book.

The bluenette attempted to open and read. However, he stops and hesitated. To the bluenette, his actions is literally prying into Sara's private life. He had no qualms in doing this with Kirito and the others before.

The same could be applied to the clients and even related people in the case. He did try to find out about Arsène Lupin, who gave him the mysterious item that is dark blue war tank.

However, the search about Arsène or what his treasure is about did not go anywhere. The possibility is that information about the Phantom Thief was too vague for specification or there are not enough conclusive keywords that he could input.

Regardless, Sara was not in that category and he was able to find about her easily. Perhaps it is because he held special feeling for the idol and wanted to respect her own rights. So, if he loved her and want to be her lover, don't search from others. Ask from herself directly and slowly. Do not force her to reveal her past of the sort. Just know the atmosphere and act accordingly with the flow.

Be honest about your feeling and accept any goods and flaws of her. That is what he believes would be ideal. With these thoughts in mind, Hiro pushes the book away from him and placed it back on where he took it. "Hiro! Sara-hime was abducted!" a familiar male voice suddenly cried, which belongs to the bluenette's partner, Kirito.

"What?!" gasped Hiro as he quickly exited the Planetary Bookshelves and decided to focus on the current situation by taking out Cyclone Memory. The fact that Kirito's voice reaches the bluenette can only be done by the Double Driver equipped on the former, which in turns appeared on the latter's waist. **"Cyclone" "Joker"**

"Henshin!" **"Cyclone Joker"** Kirito transformed into Cyclone Joker, with Hiro's mind transferred to the former. The green-black Kamen Rider summoned the Hard-Boilder and gave chase.

Violence bounce around the city on the road from one side to the other, obstructing the traffic and cause people to stop their vehicles out of shock. Some crashes into each other from the unexpected disturbance. Cyclone Joker soon catches up in his bike as the ball went down to the lower lane and enters a tunnel. The green-black Kamen Rider follow suits by pulling off a crazy stunt, which is making the Hard-Boilder jump off to the same lane as the Dopant.

Kirito, who was handling the bike as Cyclone Joker's body, could not help but worried about the idol. He definitely was missing something, which Question mentioned about giving Sara the ultimate present. Apparently, the idol knew the culprit's identity and it was unexpectedly her own manager. Kirito did not see that coming a while ago. He just thought about stopping Question and figured out who he is by defeating Violence, the Dopant form that he become.

Either way, Sara is in danger and Kirito, or rather, him and Hiro needs to save her quick. "The situation had become worse than I thought" muttered Kirito. "Do not worry. He won't hurt Sara-san until he achieved his goal" assured Hiro in a calm tone. The black swordsman did not see this coming from his partner. He sounded so calm about the circumstances.

"Considering the situation, aren't you pretty calm about this?" commented Kirito sceptically. "No! I'm serious!" retorted Hiro emotionally, which the black swordsman did not expect. His partner was confident about this so all he could do was support that idea before opposing it. "All right. We'll definitely saved your Goddess!" declared Kirito and get in top gear.

Violence in ball form soon exits the tunnel and jump into the opposing lane before diving onto a bot on a river that is below the road as a steppingstone to leap at the pier.

Knowing this would happen, Kirito summoned RevolGarry beforehand and soon switch the back parts of the bike to become a jet ski. Once that was done, they surf through the river swiftly as possible to catch with the ball bouncing by the pier rapidly.

In about 15 seconds, the green-black Kamen Rider manages to catch up to Violence. "Try to run?! You ball jerk!" barked Kirito. "You're an obstinate guy!" growled Violence as he started shooting pebbles from his body towards his pursuer.

The green-black Kamen Rider manoeuvre his jet ski to avoid the attacks as much as possible. However, this in turn increases the gap between himself and he instinctively moved away like that.

The ball then uses this chance to leap towards the green-black Kamen Rider and drop onto him, making the latter sink into the water along with his jet ski to the lowest depth possible before retreating.

Violence thought he had gain victory or at most repel his pursuer to drown in the streams and proceeds to escape with his possession on his own pace. That impression was proven wrong afterwards from one thing Katashi did not expect.

Just before the ball could land, a yellow stretchy hand emerges from the water and grabbed onto him. It was Luna Joker's right arm and he uses Violence as a mass that pulls a load with a pulley system. The load was the yellow-black Kamen Rider and his jet ski, Hard Splasher. The unexpected action caused Violence to helplessly fall onto the floor, unable to act.

As soon as the yellow-black Kamen Rider landed, he changed his left side to Trigger half. He took the Trigger Magnum, combined it with Spider Shock before shooting towards Violence. What comes out from the barrel was not a bullet but a yellow large net.

The ball got trapped in the trap and was forced to spin by Luna Trigger in one full revolution before being slammed onto the ground like a wrecking ball. The shock caused Violence to feel dizzy and involuntarily released Sara from his abduction. The idol struggles as to know what is going on, looking around in confusion.

A few seconds later, Violence stood up with some difficulty. Though, he did have something to say for Double's interference. "Why must you interfere?!" scowled Katashi.

"Do you really hate her that much?!" questioned Kirito. "It's true Hime is selfish and bullies me... but I don't hate her! Instead... I like her!" confessed Katashi, which surprises Sara from hearing this.

While it is understandable that people do crazy things when they are in love, coercing a woman or man to be submissive was definitely not love. It is mere coercion. "Then why do this?!" berated Kirito.

"Someone tempted me! I was told to become a strong man!" answered Katashi. "Did someone give you a Gaia Memory?" asked Sara. The question asked to her manager surprises Hiro, who froze for a second. It seems he was bugged by what she asked.

"Yeah... After that, I lose control..." confirmed Katashi before he loses control and comes forward, attempting to hurt Sara. Realising what is going on, Kirito quickly acted, shooting a homing bullet and knocked Violence down. He then quickly rushed to Sara, waved his left hand in a gesture that suggest her to exit from the scene. "Hurry up and run. I'll handle this" said Kirito. "Thank you, Kamen Rider" thanked Sara sincerely with a bow before leaving.

The black swordsman seems to react with this. It is his first time or perhaps a while since their first encounter the idol treated him this nicely. "Oh, that was a really good feeling..." muttered Kirito. The bluenette basically had no idea why his partner reacted like this since he was complaining about Sara recently.

"Err... Kirito?" Hiro called out. "What?" asked Kirito. "Let's go" said Hiro. The black swordsman realised the context and that he or rather they were supposed to deal with Violence. Hence, he puts his focus on the opponent before him. "Now, count up your sins!" Hiro and Kirito declared as Luna Trigger charged forward.

As for Sara, she went into hiding behind a storage shed for cover and watched from the sideline. Though, she did go into hiding, the idol has no intention of staying there and witness the fight.

While she did want revenge on Question for ruining her show, knowing his identity was her hopeless manager made her feel really angry. However, she does not feel on taking revenge after hearing his true intention.

Instead, since Kamen Rider Double was there and saved her, she should let him take that responsibility. Furthermore, there is no need to reveal her identity as Clay Doll, which only adding oil to a fire. Though, there is something that she wanted to do. Finding the mastermind who seduced Katashi into starting all this mess and that is why she silently leave to find the true culprit.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Elisabeth Mansion...

Junnosuke opened up his laptop and accessed the organisation's database. Specifically, he was checking over the Gaia Memory sales' record. Sitting opposite of him was his wife, Hermione, who ordered him to what he was currently doing.

The greyish hair gentleman scrolled down to the names of the sold Gaia Memories and finally found what record he was looking for, the Violence Memory. "Here it is. Violence Gaia Memory. The customer who bought this was... this person" mumbled Junnosuke as he accessed the record to find out who was the buyer.

It was a woman all right and she was none other than Sara's senior, Umeda Masako. The greyish hair gentleman smirked at his wife, who ordered for him to do this. "Still, for you to ask me look into this. You really are worried about your little sister" commented Junnosuke.

His wife just turned away from him with her cold emotionless eyes still remain. "That's not it. A customer that violates the condition we have establish for Gaia Memory business will only obstruct this organisation and put us in trouble if she spread out Sara's connection to it. Eliminate her at once" ordered Hermione.

What this cold-blooded sister said was serious and had a meaning behind it as they set up a condition for the customers before selling Gaia Memories to them. The first party or the user must be the buyer, not a third party.

It makes sense because Gaia Memories are not usable without a Living Connector Port and only the dealers carried the syringe gun with them. Having a third party using the product will put the first party unaffected and this will fraught with the risk of authorities learning the existence of the organisation.

It does not matter if the person is well known or not. Doubts should be purged before it goes out of control. Furthermore, Umeda Masako is a well-known announcer, which she would pose serious danger to the organisation as she was highly credible for people to trust her news even without conclusive proof. Since Sara, a fellow Commander was involved in this, that is why Hermione want Junnosuke to act.

* * *

At Breezing Wave Radio Station...

Most of the staffs were in a chaos after hearing the rumours that Sara was abducted by a monster. As they were occupied by this disturbing rumour, a certain person, wearing a grey coat enters the building, going to a certain room. It was Sara's resting room and that person lobbed her coat and handbag on the couch nearby before sitting at the makeup desk.

It was Umeda Masako and she smirked mischievously in triumph over what she had done. "Poor woman. Just about right now, she is probably..." muttered Masako before another voice finished the sentence.

"Being defiled? Sorry, I'm all safe and sound" said a familiar female, who reveal herself as Sara by appearing from behind her senior. Upon seeing the idol through the mirror completely made the blonde speechless.

"Sara..." Masako muttered in disbelief. "So, it was you after all, Masako-san. You inveigled Katashi to do all this" concluded Sara as she recalled the discussion at Asaka Detective Agency.

* * *

 _(Flashback)_

At Asaka Detective Agency, Sara came there to seek answers from Hiro, who, at that time was doing a discussion with Yui. The bluenette said he figured out who was the culprit after the idol gave some information he wanted to know. "Who?" asked Sara. The bluenette took a picture of Katashi

from the whiteboard and placed it near Question, the culprit. "It was this person, Oshiro Katashi, Sara-san's manager" answered Hiro. The revelation sort of surprised the idol. Her own manager? Seriously, why him? "Katashi was the detestable stalker?!" gasped Sara.

"Yes. According to the memorandum before the audition, he was assigned to take care of Soothing Princess audition that you participated. That alone implied he was Question. Plus, if what Kirito said that you treated him badly was true, then that would be a motive for him to take revenge on you for this. Either this or someone one tempted him to act aggressive on you. I mean, he probably had genuine feelings for you that he acted like this from someone's persuasion" explained Hiro.

While the bluenette was explaining, the little AI girl searched and analysed the information that she obtained. "But who would do such a thing to persuade Katashi?" asked Sara. After a few seconds, the little AI girl inquires them something.

"Sara-san, do you know a person by the name Umeda Masako?" asked Yui. The mention of that name slightly surprises the idol. "Yes, she was an announcer and my senior for DJ. Why do you ask?" answered Sara before she inquired.

"Well, this is just my conjecture, but I believe this person was the mastermind Hiro-san was trying to figure out" said Yui, which astonishes the two humans. "What?!" gasped Hiro. "On what basis are you suggesting?" asked Sara.

"I came across this document a while ago. Check it in the computer" said Yui as she opens up portable document format file. Hiro and Sara look at the screen and read the document. Judging by the content, it was a lay-off noticed that was directed towards Umeda Masako.

The major reason suggested by the Board of Directors was Sara being more appealing to the public for her younger look and better, in contrast to Masako who was getting older and loses her shine as a DJ.

Although some did protest the idea, they do vote for who gets to stay and who gets dismissed, which respectively resulted as Sara and Masako. Hence, Sara was chosen as the DJ of Breezing Wave. After reading through the document, the bluenette understood what Yui is implying.

"I see... This is definitely a strong motive for framing Sara-san as a threat for society. Right now, Umeda Masako is a famous announcer on par with you as a popular DJ. If you get dismissed or reported missing, she would definitely be offered to take your position as a DJ. This is a rather cowardly trick to make you a scapegoat" explained Hiro. "But... Why? She seems to be so supportive of me" asked Sara with doubt.

"People's image and behaviour are two side of the same coin. Just as how some people treat you nice, but they badmouth about you from your back. I'm afraid you will have to find out the truth for yourself if you eavesdrop on Masako when she was alone. Katashi's final goal was to make you submit to him. He had no intent of taking your life. I usually won't ask my clients to partake in danger, but you have to be the bait and let Katashi abduct you before Masako's eyes. Do not worry, I'll make sure to inform Kamen Rider and request his help to save you right away" explained Hiro. "I see... so that's how it is" replied Sara.

 _(Flashback ends)_

* * *

Back to the present time...

Masako was speechless about the idol appearing by surprise to confront her. She thought Sara was already doomed for with her foolish incompetent manager but that did not happen. "So, you knew all along and set me up to believe Katashi kidnapped you?" questioned Sara.

"Yes, with the help of a great detective and his advice about me being a bait to be abducted before your very eyes. Thanks to you being deceived, I finally get to see your real image. A rotten woman who abuses others for her personal reasons" explained Sara.

After hearing the idol reasoning and conclusion, Masako could only chuckle in amusement that her scheme was out in the open. It lasted for a few seconds before she gets up from the chair, throw her purse at Sara on the chest, angrily grabbed and pinned the latter against the wall.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! DESPITE BEING MY JUNIOR, YOU STOLE MY JOB!" berated Masako and she continued on her with her curses on the idol before calming her anger.

"I really loathed you for a long time. I then thought of taking back my job and revenge on you at the same time. That's when I learn about Gaia Memory and used your manager as my sacrificial pawn. That Katashi. He wanted you so badly that become a monster! He was deceived!" rambled Masako before she insanely laughed, which annoys the idol.

"Why must you annoy me?!" grumbled Sara. Before she even arrived, the idol equipped the Memory Driver on her waist, readying to eliminate Masako if she had to. Apparently, she must and secretly insert the Clay Doll Memory before pushing her once respected senior away.

Masako was taken by surprise and anger from being pushed by her detestable junior but soon turned horrified from seeing what happened next. Sara had become a Dopant called Clay Doll but to Masako who knew nothing about the term, can only called her a mere monster. "No way..." muttered Masako in disbelief.

This was totally not in her expectation. Not at all. She did not thought Sara was a monster and seeing it happen before her very eyes' spells DOOM for her. "Disappear!" growled Sara as she aimed her left cannon arm at the blonde.

"You monster!" screamed Masako. The barrel of Clay Doll's left arm emitted a glowing bright light, readying to fire and incinerate Masako into dust if unleashed.

"No! If you do that, you are not being the real Sara Onee-chan!" a young male voice echoed in Sara's mind.

She recognised this voice belongs to her decease younger brother who stops her from throwing a stone at her older sister, Hermione in the past. "What?! Why?! This woman is corrupted. I hate her! Why must you stop me from taking her life?" asked Sara aguishly.

Then, she heard another voice, which belongs to the detective she respected. "I know this might be hard for you but if you give in to your hatred, it will change your personality and image as a whole" advised Hiro.

Those male voices echoed in her head each time she urges herself to murder Masako. She really hates the blonde who have no right to be her senior because of the latter's jealousy.

Masako is already rotten to the core so eliminating her is justice. But Hiro and Sara's brother voices implied it is not and asked her to stop. As if they are trying to tell her to hide the hatred and not to accept it. Conceal, do not feel. That is their message. Eventually, she gives up, reverting to herself.

The idol had a desolated expression, which she looks like she wants to cry. Hearing her brother's voice makes her long for him even though she cannot meet him anymore. Regardless, agreeing not to hurt anyone, she walks away, going home without even looking at the terrified blonde.

Masako was horribly terrified back there and thought she was done for but unexpectedly got off scot-free and calm down. However, there was an eerie grin that comes off from her.

To begin with, Masako did come up with the most despicable scheme to frame Sara and stole her job from the protest of society, which failed miserably. However, she learns something new and genuine. Sara was a monster herself and that is totally a new chance for Masako to continue her epic scheme to ruin the former.

There is no need to fabricate anything. With her credibility as a famous announcer, her testimony alone will be accepted as truth. "Sara Lindsey Elisabeth is a monster. I got to spread this fact right away" Masako mumbled devilishly with pleasure before she quickly grabs the phone to tell someone.

"Don't even think about it" a male voice warned, which almost give a heart attack to the blonde who thought she was alone. Masako saw at the door was Junnosuke, but she did not know him. Regardless, Sara's brother in law was secretly following Sara herself to find the blonde. He thought for sure Sara is going to kill Masako but looks like he has to continue his duty to eliminate the blonde.

At that time, the greyish hair man already wore his Memory Driver on the waist. "Anyone who poses danger to the Elisabeth family shall be disposed of immediately" declared Junnosuke as he took out his Gaia Memory. **"Nasca"**

The greyish hair man loaded the memory into the driver and becomes the cyan Dopant. Masako screamed for her life, grabbed a vase and threw it at Nasca. However, it missed and broke a mirror instead. She tried to yell for help, but no one comes to save her.

As her screams of fear reaches the maximum volume, Nasca summons an energy ball and lob it at Masako, incinerating her to dusts. On this case, Junnosuke preferred to leave a corpse with eerie look but if he did that, authorities would suspect Sara and it would trouble the Elisabeth family further. His father-in-law and wife already warned him not to leave any traces that would lead people to suspect them.

Regardless, his job is done, and he heard footsteps approaching. Hence, he uses his new evolved ability, the super speed to eliminate any trace of him and Masako being there and flee from the scene in a flash.

* * *

Back to the fight between Double and Violence...

The yellow-blue Kamen Rider was pursuing the muscular Dopant with the use of Hard Tubular in the sky. Violence was in his ball form, bouncing around from building to building while also using his wrecking ball to hang onto something and swinging around to shoot pebbles at Luna Trigger.

Kirito was getting annoyed with the endless wild goose chase and yet he cannot approach to attack up close. At one point, Violence stopped Luna Trigger when he got his guard down with the pebbles shot. Then, the ball then attempts to ram onto the Kamen Rider from a distance about 800 metres.

"Kirito. Try firing a pincer finisher shot" ordered Hiro. "Okay" agreed Kirito. The black swordsman understood his partner's intention, which is to finish off Violence from two ends. Hence, he takes out the Trigger Magnum, loaded Stag Phone onto it before inserting the Trigger Memory. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"**

Luna Trigger shifted the magnum to Maximum mode and stood firmly before aiming at the incoming Violence. "Trigger Stag Burst!"

With the unison declaration for the finisher, the yellow-blue Kamen Rider pulled the trigger, unleashing a laser that splits into two directions. The ball got hit by them from both ends, leading to an explosion.

Falling from the explosion a few moments later was Oshiro Katashi, who screamed for his dear life and do not want to die. Of course, he will not because his leg got grabbed by a yellow stretchy hand from Luna Joker.

Katashi realised he did not fall but he still screamed for his dear life from the fear of height. "Man. He is such a handful" grumbled Kirito, which is acceptable since Katashi caused a lot more trouble for Double to deal with.

Eventually, he gently dropped Katashi onto the rooftop of a nearby building. The Violence Memory came off from his left hand and shattered into pieces. "Sara-hime. I'm sorry!" apologised Katashi before he collapsed onto the floor and fainted.

Luna Joker then landed before taking out both of the Gaia Memories, reverting to Kirito. "You did it, Hiro" he complimented. However, the black swordsman did not hear any reply. "Hiro?" Kirito called out but there is no reply. "Is he tired though? Oh well. I better call the police and told the location" muttered Kirito before he took off the Double Driver from his waist.

* * *

At Asaka Detective Agency...

Hiro's consciousness returns to his body and he stood. However, he replied nothing to Kirito's responses. Because something bothered him so bad. It was about Sara's question to Katashi which involves the word Gaia Memory.

The bluenette was bothered about this because none of the public in majority knew about the term. No one even know what a Gaia Memory is, let alone know what it does. His mentor even forbids him not to talk about it in the open.

But, he had to tell his family member and Kirito along with his friends because they all caught up into this. Other than them, his informants and the police are the only ones who knows about the existence of Gaia Memory.

"She knows the existence of Gaia Memories. Just why and how...?" Hiro asked himself as he pondered. Then, something comes to his mind and without even wasting a second, he takes his Stag Phone and contacted Sara.

A few minutes before at Elisabeth Mansion...

Sara decided to return home after informing her safety wellbeing to her co-workers. As she decided to gaze into the relaxing garden scenery, the idol saw her sister on her way there.

"You look well, Sara. Do you still intend to be a talent?" asked Hermione when she saw her sister's excited face. "Yes. A certain someone made me realise that I should live my own way" answered Sara sincerely before passing by her sister to go outside. "Oh..." muttered Hermione in surprise.

She did not expect her little sister to talk nicely to the former. Usually, Sara would quickly lose temper and insult Hermione first. Then, the said idol's phone rang, which Sara took it out and look who was the caller. To her surprise, it was Hiro and they actually exchanged contact on the morning of this day.

"Hello, Hiro. What is it?" asked Sara. "I was worried. Did you make it back safe and sound?" Hiro answered before inquiring the idol. "I'm okay. Thanks to Kamen Rider" said Sara. "Say... did you..." Hiro muttered before he paused.

He wants to ask if Sara had a Gaia Memory but could not spit it out. The idol was surprised that she could not catch up what the bluenette was trying to ask. "What is it? Don't stop halfway" said Sara, which the bluenette comes back into reality.

"Oh, sorry. I was wondering... what is the name of your little brother? If it doesn't trouble you for me to know" inquired Hiro, who averted his true intended question. "What? That's what you want to know? It's fine. Carlos Frank Elisabeth. That's his full name" answered Sara.

Upon hearing the name, the bluenette froze in shock. Carlos Frank Elisabeth. He was the Child of Fate, which Fuuto talked about in the events of Begins Night. It is also the same person who sacrificed himself to save Hiro and gave the Planetary Bookshelves ability.

The bluenette did know the first two names but did not expect his family name was Elisabeth. If the little brother of Sara and that Child of Fate was the same person, that means there has to be some connection between the Elisabeth family and the Gaia Memory Organisation.

No, perhaps not just mere connection but probably the family themselves, including Sara were the Commanders of this Organisation. The bluenette believe this is a plausible possibility.

After all, who else would abuse the Child of Fate's power to create Gaia Memories in the first place? Hiro was horrified and speechless to think this is possible. "Hello?" Sara's voice echoed, which brought the bluenette back to reality. "Oh, what is it?" asked Hiro.

"That's my line! Don't suddenly be quiet on me" scolded Sara. "I'm sorry. It's just... I forgot what I want to ask or talk about" apologised Hiro. He was lying for sure because he could not conceal the suspicions on the idol being a Commander of the Gaia Memory Organisation.

"It's okay. Hey, I got an idea. Why don't you meet me at the sports centre tomorrow morning?" Sara forgive the bluenette before suggesting him some arrangement, which surprises him. "Sport centre? What for?" asked Hiro confusingly.

"Tennis. I played tennis regularly there. Why don't you join me for a match?" explained Sara before inviting the bluenette over. "But... I never even touch a racket or know anything about tennis" Hiro awkwardly admits he is not good with the mentioned sport.

"Don't worry. I will properly teach you about it. So, can we meet around 8?" assured Sara before asking for the meeting time. "Sure. At the sports centre, right?" agreed Hiro before clarifying the venue. "Indeed. Then, meet you tomorrow. Bye" confirmed Sara before ending the call excitedly. The bluenette then ends the call as well.

Hiro remained silent as he was in a confusion. Why he did not ask Sara if she has a Gaia Memory? That is what bothered him. Why he was so indecisive about it? The bluenette even pondered about it and come up with a few plausible reasons.

First, he likes Sara, no doubt about that. He does not want to be enemies with the girl he loved, even if she turned out to be his enemy.

Second, he probably, no, definitely had lingering guilt for causing Carlos to die for him. If that Child of Fate was still alive, Sara can still meet him. But that is no longer possible because it was Hiro's fault for Carlos's death.

Third, naive as he may be and in conjunction with the first reason, he simply does not want to believe that Sara was connected to the Gaia Memory Organisation. Kirito and the others definitely would not stay quiet about this and went after the Elisabeth family.

If so, then, Sara would be arrested by the police, which Hiro definitely do not want it to happen. But, not telling them would be against their promises of not hiding anything. He would lose their trusts.

On the arbitrary, even if Sara was not connected to the Gaia Memory Organisation, Hiro had no confidence of winning as of now. With only him and Kirito capable of fighting, he cannot imagine winning against all the Commanders.

He needs Asuna and the others to participate as well and they need to be trained properly for a real life and death battle. Keeping that in mind, Hiro believe he needs to make haste for inventing the necessary equipment for them to use.

The bluenette then confirm the situation once more. He suspects Sara was connected to the Gaia Memory Organisation, but he failed to clarify with the idol herself due to his indecisiveness.

While the bluenette could call her again, he believes it will only have annoyed her and increased the rift between them. On the bright side, she invites him to play tennis tomorrow from the call just now. He still has the chance to obtain information from her and need to tackle it carefully.

If all goes well, perhaps he might be able to talk with the organisation's boss and avoid any dispute to achieve his goals of stopping the Gaia Memory distribution and send Kirito and the others home.

In the case that is not possible, he needs to fight his way through. However, their chance of winning is low as of now. Asuna and the girls are not capable of fighting, so he needs to prepare the necessary equipment and trained them.

Yes, those are what he must do for the time being. Information gathering and proper preparations. It is fine even if he conceals his doubt about Sara from everyone, but he needs to obtain details about the organisation and get the girls' equipment ready if they must fight. With that resolve being form and firm, the bluenette quickly go inside the garage and started planning for what he is going to do in the upcoming days.

 **That is all for this chapter. I do not feel to add any after the case moment. Maybe I'll think about it if I have the mood. In any case, Hiro and Sara are going to be the _Official Couple_ in this story but whether it last like Kirito and Asuna, I would not be certain of it. I might not write side stories because of the long delay, depending on the situation but I want to finish things up while not messing the overall storyline.**

 **Oh, I believed I have not mentioned this yet but whenever Kirito and Hiro transformed into W, either the regular version or Fang Joker, I only wrote them as only one person because there is only one body that does overall movement. One body with two souls are considered single for convenience in writing. Similar analogy to this is an aeroplane has two pilots so when you refer to what the aeroplane does, what do (I forgot the concept if it was verb or noun) you use? They or it? That is what I meant. I will use they/them for Cyclone Joker Xtreme as this form is two bodies and two souls. The ruling change depending on what you are referring.**

 **Anyway, my left foot hurts from high Uric Acid content in my blood as of finishing writing this chapter. Wish me well soon. Have you watched Frozen 2? If not, go get your tickets and watch it at your local cinema. I totally enjoy going _Into the Unknown_. **


	12. Last of Nasca

**13th September 2060, Monday**

There is a barber shop near the shrine, and it is called Barber Ventus. Today, Kirito is going there for a haircut because his hair was long and he looks dishevel, at least that is what the girls told him.

Lisbeth suggest that he should go for the bald cut, just like their friend, Agil. Asuna got mad about it and such hairstyle ruins Kirito's image. Though, Lisbeth did say that Kirito's head is round so bald hair fits nicely with him. Regardless, Suguha proposed that her brother just get a tidy haircut that does not involve losing all his hair.

And so, Kirito arrived at this barber shop. The barber and master of this shop was a male in his 40s. His black hair was 2 centimetres long at most located on his top and front of his head. The barber had brown hazel eyes, wearing a white brown T-shirt with brown long sleeve collarless shirt inside along with dark green pants and brown slippers.

His name is Kojima Takaharu. According to Hiro, who regularly comes here, the barber's daughter was the same age as Ayumu, around 15 but different school.

When Kirito arrives, he also noticed that he had facial hair growing thick. He knew his hair is growing but not his beard along with his moustache and such. The black swordsman was not really paying attention when the girls told him about it but when he looked at the mirror himself, he knows what service he need to ask from the barber.

There was another customer nearby, in a lying position, with the face being covered with towels. Kirito thought again, he did not want to lose the hair that he grew until now. So, he believed he will only do face cleaning.

Hence, he told the barber that he wanted face cleaning and sat on the chair that is next to the other customer. The black swordsman also had his face covered with towels as well.

Unbeknownst to Kirito, the one sitting on the other chair was Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth and vice versa. The greyish hair gentleman also come here for the same reason as Kirito but in addition is to clear his mind.

That reason is valid since there are not many people around the shrine. Plus, it is cold that the shop itself sticks in using a normal fan as opposed to an air conditioner along with some nice lavender air freshener that fumes throughout the shop.

"I see... No wonder Hiro really likes to come here. It is so relaxing that I could go asleep. It really is fitting for a detective like him to relax in this environment after an exhausting case", muttered Kirito.

The mentioning of the bluenette's name strike interest for the barber in charge. "Excuse me, are you referring to Oozora Hiro from Asaka Detective Agency?" asked Takaharu.

"Yes, Master. Kirigaya Kazuto is my name but people always referred to me as Kirito", Kirito answered and introduced himself. Although Hiro had warned everyone not to give their full names, the black swordsman believed it should be fine if it did not involve identity checking, as of current situation. What would a barber benefit from just knowing full name from his/her customers? After all, you do not need to register just to get a haircut or face clean. It will just hinder him more if he acted too careful about the most minor matters.

"I see", replied Takaharu. "I too... always come here when I need to clear up my mind. Right, Master?" asked Junnosuke. "Ah, yes", agreed Takaharu with a nod. "Oh, to be a fan of Barber Ventus, you must be quite a connoisseur", commented Kirito.

"I am more than just a connoisseur. Say, do you know about Amano-chan?" asked Junnosuke. The black swordsman pondered for a minute about the question addressed to him. He knows a few kinds of Amano but not sure which one, the customer next to him, referred to.

First is Kai Amano, the popular singer from 10 years ago whom everyone addressed as Athena. However, it is unthinkable that the customer next to Kirito was referring to her as she was no more and may possibly neither know nor remember.

Second would be Amanogawa, which is the word for Milky Way in Japanese language. But the term does not seem to fit the context as they were not conversing about astronomy.

The only possibility is that the customer next to Kirito was referring to a person as the former used honorifics for the name. Then it pops to his mind. The customer next to him might be referring to this city's mascot. Amano of Amanohara and to make it cute sounding, they addressed the image character with honorifics -chan.

The mascot had a four-blade of red pinwheel head and yellow inner along with cute green eyes. It has no mouth, nose, or ears but it has a small human like body in yellow colour, wearing a blue clothing that has a yellow filled circle and letter A in red within as a logo. It is obvious that the A represents Amanohara and nicknamed Amano-chan.

"Are you referring to the mascot of this city?" asked Kirito. "Exactly. And I was the designer for it! When I was in third grade, I won the contest!" Junnosuke claim excitedly that he gets up from the chair.

Takaharu's assistant, who was standing nearby walk towards the greyish hair customer and gently pushed him down as the latter's towel fall off, caught by Takaharu before being applied back to the said customer.

"Really?! That's amazing!" shouted Kirito as he done the same action before being pushed to lie down and said, "I really admire you".

"Thank you. Next time, I will give you a special key holder as a present. I... love... Amano-chan. It was limited to 50 copies. So super rare!" said Junnosuke with the appropriate gesture. On his pants, there is a key holder with the mascot, Amano-chan hanging. As Junnosuke himself was the designer of this image character, he got one for free.

"Please do! Please do! Wow, I really like this city!" said Kirito excitedly. Then, the two customers began laughing for a bit. Simultaneously, a repeating beep sound was heard, which made the barber's assistant took off the face towel from the customers.

The two customers continue laughing before abruptly stopping after they see each other's face and frown. "You!" gasped Junnosuke. "You!" followed Kirito. "Out to the front!" said Junnosuke. Takaharu was confused as to what happened but his customers suddenly left their money for payment and get out from the shop.

* * *

A few minutes later…

The two customers went to the shrine area where not many people were present. Kirito knows one thing for sure. He does not get along with Junnosuke. The last time he met him at Elisabeth mansion, this guy accused him as Sara's stalker along with nonsense ramblings of his love for Amanohara city.

"To think I'll be meeting you at this place... Kamen Rider-kun", muttered Junnosuke. The black swordsman froze from hearing the greyish hair man's sentence. How did he know Kirito was a Kamen Rider? It does not make sense at all. The black swordsman only met Junnosuke once during the Sweets Dopant incident but did not recall giving hints to the latter about being Kamen Rider.

Hiro had warned Kirito about transforming in public because this action will grab unnecessary attention. What he meant by unnecessary are not fans but rather authorities like police or special investigation unit or military lieutenant or government agent. Police, special investigators, and government agent would just find faults instead of praising and had warrant for arrest of unauthorised users and confiscation of the facility along with the equipment.

Regarding how Junnosuke know about Kirito being a Kamen Rider could only be coincidental in one of the previous cases where Kirito thought there was no one else and transformed without being aware that the former was there. If that was the case, Kirito cannot do anything about it as that was not intentional.

"Just... who are you?" asked Kirito. "Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth. Oh, you might recognise me more as this", Junnosuke introduced as he takes out his Gaia Driver and equipped it before taking out his Gaia Memory. "Nasca"

The black swordsman had his sight widen upon seeing the greyish hair man's actions before what happened next. Junnosuke transformed into Nasca Dopant and this reveals one truth. He was the Commander that constantly interfere in most of the Dopant cases. According to Hiro, he believes this Commander was newly recruited because he never encountered Nasca before Kirito and the rest arrived as well as the only active commander that had interfere with Kamen Rider so often.

"So that's how it is", mumbled Kirito. "Gaia Memory, which makes human evolved superior beings. It brings me joy that my career is to distribute them", said Junnosuke.

Kirito was offended by this sentence. Sure enough, this was not his timeline, but he hates the fact that someone would try to wreck chaos into society, kill innocent lives and destroys relationship between fellow human beings. After seeing what Fuuto's ex-partner, Retsu did, Kirito has a clear reason to help Hiro.

"Don't be ridiculous! I won't let the likes of you do as you please!" barked Kirito as he took out and equipped the Double Driver before taking out Joker Memory. **"Joker"**

"Since you are going to transform, I would like you to use Fang Joker", stated Junnosuke. This sentence surprises Kirito. This Commander had the nerve to be picky about whom he decides to fight. Since he mentions Fang Joker, he meant Hiro.

As far as Kirito remember, in terms of pure strength and close-range fight, Fang Joker is indeed the strongest form of Double so far. Not to mention, Hiro was experienced with fighting Dopants and real-life combat against thugs more than Kirito.

Even though Kirito prefer to be the body rather than the mind of Double, it still does not change the fact he will be defeating Junnosuke either way. "Hey, did you hear that, Hiro? What do we do?" asked Kirito.

...

...

The black swordsman waited for his partner's response. However, the bluenette did not say anything. "Hey, what's wrong, Hiro? Hiro?" Kirito talked to his partner telepathically through the belt. He waited for another minute but there is no reply. Just what is going on with his partner?

The black swordsman noticed that Junnosuke is waiting. Even if he is an enemy, nobody likes to people that dawdles. "Give me some time so I can confirm my partner's status", Kirito excused himself for privacy and turned around as he takes his Stag Phone and called Hiro's number.

* * *

On the other side...

At Asaka Detective Agency, Hiro was sleeping like a log at the bed inside the office. Even though he was alerted with the driver on his waist and Kirito's repeated calling, the bluenette remained asleep and did not wake up.

However, he was not alone. Lisbeth and Ayumu were in the office as well. They soon heard the ringtone, with Lisbeth approaching and picking up Hiro's Stag Phone on the desk nearby. Ayumu then noticed the driver emerged from her brother's waist and try to wake him up.

"Hello", she greeted. "Lis? Where's Hiro? I need to go Fang Joker", whispered Kirito. "Oh, about that, I don't think Hiro can even come out. He is dead asleep. Listen", said Lisbeth before she puts the phone closer to the sleeping Hiro.

All Kirito can hear was the snoring the bluenette made in his sleep and the former was astounded. Then, the blacksmith puts herself back on the line. "With that, I think you need to retreat or handle it on your own, Kirito. Bye", said Lisbeth before ending the call abruptly.

* * *

Back to where Kirito was...

He could not believe that Hiro is sleeping at an important time like this. Forget Fang Joker, Kirito cannot even be the host if his partner is sleeping in both mind and body. The black swordsman takes a deep breath before he keeps his phone and turned around to where Nasca was.

Kirito then took off the Double Driver off his waist, which surprises the cyan Dopant. "What's wrong? Your friend is too scared to face me and throw up the fight?" sneered Junnosuke.

"Nothing like that. I am just so raring to use this, and I get to beat you myself", Kirito retorted, taking out something. It was a Driver that looks identical to Lost Driver, but the slot was on the left side.

Hiro decides to name this Found Driver, just to match up with Lost Driver like the terms Lost and Found. The function is still the same as Lost Driver with the only differing features were its aesthetics. Hiro gave Kirito this Driver in case the former cannot unite to form Double. Apparently, now is the time to use it.

Kirito placed the Found Driver on his waist, which transform into a belt around his waist. As stated about the difference in aesthetics, the Maximum Slot is also on the left side of the belt. Although Kirito is right-handed, he decides he might as well to hold and use the Joker Memory in his left hand instead. **"Joker"**

The black swordsman inserted his Gaia Memory into the slot. Then, he readies his right hand in front before clenching it into fist while his left hand is on standby, holding the driver. "Henshin!" **"Joker"**

Kirito's whole body clad in black with purple shades armour that was used on Double. Kirito's whole body clad in black with purple shades armour that was used on Double but with no dividing silver lines at the symmetrical axis. In this form, Kirito is Kamen Rider Joker.

"So, you're fighting solo on me? Then, your loss has been decided", declared Junnosuke. "Oh really? If I do not try, I won't know", retorted Kirito. "So, I'll make you know!" barked Junnosuke.

With that declaration, Nasca took out his katana blade and charged towards Joker. The black Kamen Rider immediately dodge left the cyan Dopant's sword swing from diagonal above to the right. Joker does it again while going in a circle when Nasca slash from left horizontally and diagonal above to the right.

However, the cyan Dopant quickly swing his blade to the right, managing to hit the black Kamen Rider and then sent him flying with a diagonal slash from bottom right. Joker somehow managed to gain his ground. Even though Kirito wants to beat Junnosuke, the opposite thing is happening.

Unfortunately, this is Kirito first time transforming and fight solo. He had no idea if Joker had a weapon. If not, then, it is suck because fist fighting is not really his thing. He would prefer using a heavy long sword. Well, it is not like he cannot fight with his fist. He did fight bare fist in armour as left half of Joker. It is just not his style. _"If only I have a sword..."_ thought Kirito as he wished for a sword.

Then, unexpectedly, he felt something heavy appeared on his back, which he felt weird. Joker uses his left hand to feel what is on his back but instead grabbed onto a handle of something.

Curious about what he holds, the black Kamen Rider pulled off what is on his back and became surprised to see what he was holding as he holds the item with both hands. It is a sword, specifically with its name, Victory Strider.

The sword that Hiro made and named by Kirito. The black swordsman had no idea why he decides with that name initially when he was unsure with his naming sense but now, he did, and it was all out of mere instinct. Victory is simplified as success, triumph, and win among the synonyms. Stride main definition would be walking long steps impatiently to be simple. However, the second definition, a step-in progress for an aim is more fitting. So, this weapon is a step for victory.

Before Kirito could indulge about his sword, he noticed Nasca is approaching him. He had no idea whether Hiro had completed this sword or not, but he must act before he gets kill.

When the cyan Dopant approaches to deliver a straight down slash from above, the black Kamen Rider swing his sword from downward to upward, blocking the blow on him.

"Oh, a beginner with a sword? Are you sure you want to fight me with that heavy looking thing?" sneered Junnosuke. "A beginner? To you, it might be but for me. I got experience of sword fighting and liking for heavy swords", retorted Kirito.

The black swordsman did not lie about that part completely. He had at least 2 years of wielding various swords in SAO and favours one hit smash on enemies using weighty weapons instead of the ones prioritising continuous attacks and speeds to achieve victory.

As he levels up and increases his strength stat, that heavy feeling would reduce and changing swords is necessary. Well, that was a theory possible in virtual world but in real world, it is not theoretically possible unless one's body gets physically trained regularly. Regardless, Kirito likes that sensation.

And so, the two continue to exchange blows while mostly locking their blades against each other. Kirito himself was unsure about how he was doing in terms of performance. That doubt mainly rose from the fact he was not used with using Victory Strider. Apart from that, it is not a matter of using his arms and hands but his whole body as the force to utilise power swinging from its inertia. Back in about a month ago, Hiro consults with Kirito about his desire to use sword. The bluenette suggests using his existing sword, the W-Sword.

Kirito did try giving some swing, but he did not seem to be satisfied, especially because the blade length seems short and light. The black swordsman apologised for his rudeness when he realised his unrestrained complaints. The bluenette did not mind because he was trying to improve Double's fighting style. A sword is indeed a required option as their unification lack dealing sharp type offence or in other words, slash attacks. Even though Hiro uses sword when fighting alone, there were times where his enemies were too strong that he cannot deal decent damage on them.

The existing W-sword was a handmade weapon which prioritise balance so Hiro can use it flexibly. However, as mentioned before, some enemies felt like the sword strike was nothing more than just a soft plastic butter knife toys made for kids safe playing.

As of the time, he is lacking on budget to make another sword from scratch. Hence, he decides on remodelling W-Sword into a new sword, but he needs time for it. Not to mention Hiro had his commitment for detective works and family. Regardless, he will try to make time for it. Until he can make a decent one, the bluenette suggest sword will not be part of Double's versatile fighting style.

Apparently, by the time during Dummy Dopant incident, Hiro managed to make an incomplete sword, which Kirito gave the name. But the sword's circuit got fuse from the overloading Maximum Drive that seems miraculous to achieve yet the users are not suffering from knockback or strains. Hence, forget utilising any high-level sword skills that Kirito remembered, just one hit move can put a lot of strain in the weapon.

As of now, Joker continued exchanging almost endless blows against Nasca while mostly on the defensive side as the former is getting used with the sword swinging. "I can't hold on like this for long. I must strike", thought Kirito as he struggles to keep up with Nasca.

At one point, Joker and Nasca locked their blades on each other, with the latter trying to overwhelm the former by pushing him onto the floor. The black Kamen Rider, who was being pushed back allowed himself to do so because he wanted to let the cyan Dopant believed he is winning. And when the time is right, Joker jump backwards by about five metres before readying his stance, with his sword pointing to his rear left. Nasca then dived forward attempting to land a diagonal slash from northeast direction in Joker's point of view.

The black Kamen Rider focused and waited for the cyan Dopant to reach a certain range for the former to do something. When Nasca approaches close enough to land a hit, Joker lift the Victory Strider from southwest direction with all his might to parry the slash by pushing it onto the opposite direction. In turn, Nasca who was not expecting that had his attack halted, leaving himself vulnerable. "Now!" Noticing this chance, Joker switched his sword's swing direction into southwest forward attack.

Yes, even if it is in virtual world, the experience of fighting is no lie and with Joker boost for impossible movement, even Kirito who lacks of exercise can pull off any crazy stunt like parrying and counterattack quickly than a person real body can, only cannot get his accuracy corrected without any assistance.

Junnosuke was unaware and underestimate this part of Kirito. However, the opposite can be said to the black swordsman who was not aware that Junnosuke had trained himself. Just a second before Joker's sword could land on Nasca, the latter instantly vanished on the last second.

"What?!" gasped Kirito. Before the black Kamen Rider could start questioning what happened, the cyan Dopant appeared behind the former and delivered a diagonal slash from southwest direction, sending him flying.

Joker fall about 10 metres away but somehow managed to rebound and gain his grounds. "What was that?" muttered Kirito worriedly. The black swordsman honestly did not expect his opponent to vanish in the last second, especially when the latter is left vulnerable to even act.

When did the last time something like this happen in a duel? Was it by Nautilus, Nochizawa Eiji during the Ordinal Scale incidents? No. That did not sound right. Even though Kirito was burned with anger for what Eiji did to the former's friends and wanted to scold him for the rude action, the latter only pulled off his sword faster as iai to point at Kirito's throat.

Sure enough, it sounds possible when the black swordsman noticed Nautilus wear some super suits that boost his quick movement and all like jumping to deflect a bullet that abouts to hit Yuna at about five metres high while landing in less than seconds without hurting his legs. However, Kirito was aware about the overwhelming reflexes before duelling him one on one.

Hence, was it Yuuki AKA Konno Yuuki or Zekken? No. That does not make sense one bit. While her movement in virtual world is faster than Kirito, neither has hatred towards the other and she wins fair and square in their duels. Her tragic circumstances support this fact and Asuna was the one who discover it.

Last thing Kirito could think of was Kayaba Akihiko with his avatar, Heathcliff. Yes. That sounds likely. After all, the KOB commander challenged Kirito for a duel when the latter tried to take Asuna away from the guild.

Kirito uses his dual wielding skills against Heathcliff's Holy Sword skills. The former managed to overwhelm the commander with his fast reflexes and almost land a hit on him when left vulnerable. However, his shield moved way too fast like less than a second to block Kirito's attack.

That is one of the major clues Kirito suspects Heathcliff is SAO developer, Kayaba Akihiko followed by his health bar not reaching yellow zone in a super intense boss battle and the incontrovertible proof that he is an immortal object by the system.

Realising the situation is similar, Kirito is in a disbelief as he never would have thought he is in a Deja vu about Kayaba Akihiko again, this time on a different person in different time. But he had no idea what to make of about Nasca's situation.

The cyan Dopant seems to understand what Kirito is thinking at this very moment and decides to reveal his secret. "You must be wondering? How come he moved that fast? Let me tell you. I have trained myself hard to reach level 2. And that is how I got my super speed", explained Junnosuke.

Kirito was quite speechless about what he heard. Level up? What is this? An RPG? He had no idea that Dopants level up. Not that Hiro told him about it.

No. The bluenette did mentioned it regarding the incident that took place about a decade ago, the one involving Kamen Rider Skull against Spider Dopant.

A human's negative emotion can make Gaia Memories evolved with infinite possibilities, depending on the circumstances. Hence, Kirito can conclude that Nasca Memory had evolved. However, that is not just all.

Junnosuke himself evolved as well. After all, a high-level equipment and stats are useless if the user is a complete beginner. Junnosuke shows none of that and Double's previous battles against Nasca proves that he is using his own abilities as well, not just the powers granted by the Gaia Memories. In other words, he resembled another Kayaba Akihiko but not a game designer of any sort.

Kirito really felt despondent about the situation. First, there is his unexpected encounter with Junnosuke and his identity as Nasca. Second, Hiro is not fighting alongside Kirito. Third, Nasca had improved to the point where Joker alone cannot keep up with the super speed.

"Oh, man. This is just sucking..." moaned Kirito. Before he could say any further, Nasca uses his super speed and the former barely able to stop his movement by locking their blades against each other. "That's my line. I am disappointed that you are not at your strongest form. You chose to fight alone instead of the usual style and that is your greatest blunder against me", Nasca complained.

"Even so... I have no intention on losing against you! You treat this city and its people like wastepaper to be thrown in baskets!" retorted Kirito before he backs off his sword and tried to strike Nasca. However, the cyan Dopant single handily stop the blade with his left hand before pointing his katana sharp side near Joker's throat. "You misunderstood me. I love this city. From the bottom of my heart!" proclaimed Junnosuke passionately.

"Kirito-san!" a familiar voice suddenly called out, which got the attention of both Joker and Nasca. The two looked to their respective left and right to where the voice came from and saw someone they knew. It was the Barber Ventus Master, Kojima Takaharu.

Nasca immediately pulled his blade away and left hand from Joker and his sword, respectively. "Looks like you escape death this time", said Junnosuke before he promptly leaves.

"You refused to get Master involved? That is unexpected. So, you do have your own pride in doing things", commented Kirito. However, the cyan Dopant did not give any response and left silently.

To Kirito, it is also a lifesaver that Kojima Takaharu is looking for him. After all, if the battle had resumed, Kirito would have lost. Even though the black swordsman does not want to believe Junnosuke's passion for his city, the latter seems to have his own pride of not letting innocent people whom he knew get caught in his fight. Regardless, Kirito is spared and he untransformed to go meet the person who call out to him.

The barber's Master soon noticed the black swordsman coming out of nowhere and went to approach him. "There you are. What was that all about?" asked Takaharu worriedly, as he rather not loses customers just because two of them argue against each other.

"Oh, we just had different argument in some matter. But it's nothing serious for you to worry about", lied Kirito convincingly. "More importantly, is there anything you need from me?" he asked.

The barber himself then remembered he did need a favour from Hiro but if Kirito knew the bluenette, he might as well tell him about it. "To be honest, I would like to hire Hiro-kun a detective request, but I really got everything occupied currently that I cannot make time to see him at the agency", explained Takaharu.

"Well, if that's the case. You can tell the details of the case with me now. I am currently working part-time at Asaka Detective Agency. Despite being there a few months, I do help Hiro crack a lot of cases", explained Kirito. What the black swordsman said was no mere lie.

To begin with, one of the reasons Hiro chooses Kirito as a partner for Double is because he needed someone with high credibility to do mystery solving. It is not like Kirito never solve any puzzling mystery before. He and Asuna did solve a murder case that supposedly cannot happened in a safe zone during SAO era. In addition, he and Sinon did crack the truth of Death Gun incident by reviewing over the basics and expresses their doubt over something the culprit did not do.

Hearing that from the black swordsman, the barber had an expression of relief because he never expected his first-time new customer works part time with Asaka Detective Agency. It is a helpful coincidence.

"Is that so? I feel glad if you said so, Kirito-san", replied Takaharu. The black swordsman then takes out a pen and a small notebook before opening a new page to write. "Well, will you tell me what this request entails?" asked Kirito.

"I would like you to search for my daughter", said Takaharu. "Daughter? What happened?" asked Kirito curiously. "She has not returned home. It's already three days and I couldn't contact her", answered Takaharu.

"Excuse me for being rude but did you have a fight with her or something or could it be she was being rebellious from your strict regulations?" asked Kirito with apology.

"No. Such thing never occurred recently, and she is not that kind of girl", Takaharu denied the possibility suggested. After hearing that, the black swordsman prods the pen's cap on his chin, pondering about the situation.

Just why would Takaharu's daughter did not return home if it does not have anything to do with argument or strict regulation? If she were a good girl, why would she do things like this? Has she found a persuasive boyfriend who tricked her into doing something explicit?

Either way, Kirito asked for the information regarding Takaharu's daughter along with the questions he thought of to the client. Unbeknown to them, Junnosuke was eavesdropping on their conversation from behind a tree nearby.

* * *

About 20 minutes later...

Kirito returned to Asaka Detective Agency after obtaining all the information needed for the investigation. Though, the black swordsman was surprised when he sees the bluenette walking like an old man, with his body leaned about 30 degrees forward while using the nearby furniture like tables or chairs as support to help him go from one place to another.

Around him, Lisbeth and Ayumu are watching Hiro exasperatedly as he moaned like some old man who had a backache. "What happened to you, Hiro?" asked Kirito. "Tennis. He just returned home like that from playing tennis", explained Lisbeth. "Tennis?! With whom?!" gasped Kirito worriedly.

"Who else? Princess Sara. And he's been on it since the day before yesterday", added Ayumu. Hearing that, the black swordsman seems speechless. "Wow... I did not think she want to play sports with you. I am amazed", commented Kirito. "Really? I think she was just using him as target practice", Lisbeth retorted.

"Hey, I know what I am doing. I only lose because I am not used with this game and she did not hold back at all. Although today she invited me to do some hardcore workout before playing tennis", argued Hiro. "Because of those workouts, all my muscles feel super sore than usual"

"Oh, that is unfortunate", replied Kirito. "In any case, what happened when I was unconscious? Ayumu said you called me to transform. A Dopant attacked you?" inquired Hiro.

"A commander. He knows we are Double and wants us to fight as Fang Joker. But since you are in no shape to fight, I had to fight him alone with that Found Driver you gave me", explained Kirito.

Hiro then realised the situation. Kirito was not really used with fighting Dopants on his own. And a Commander on top of that, it is something Hiro should worry about. "Sorry... I didn't think that I troubled you a while ago", he apologised.

"Don't mind it. That is some good experience. Even though I survived, it does not look like that commander is going to reveal our identity yet, so we should be safe. More importantly, we got a request. The client is the owner of Barber Ventus", said Kirito, which got the girls' attention. "What kind of request?" asked Ayumu.

"Finding someone. He was worried about his daughter, Kojima Saori and she had not return home for 3 days. Master wants me to find her and I thought maybe Hiro can do lookup on her possible location", explained Kirito.

"I believe you might want to try asking Day and Night about finding Saori-san's location because they knew anything involving school students. In the meantime, I will try to find out something else that might cause her to not return home. And that's... while I'm trying to rest and recover in a while", suggested Hiro as he struggled to move towards the bed with the pain on his back still present.

"All right, Lis, Ayumu. Let us go", declared Kirito, which the two girls nodded. Before the trio take their leave, Hiro requested to turn on the radio as one of the news might hold a clue.

Ayumu was the one who turn it on before leaving. As Hiro listened to the radio, the segment was currently Mystery Tour in Soothing Princess by Sara Lindsey Elisabeth. He heard her talking about a rumour involving some birdman appearing in the sky. The bluenette seems to be entranced by the topic and decides to try investigating it.

* * *

Inside an arcade…

Day and Night, the informants for people within schools are inside a photobooth, taking a set of six small photos. Currently, they are in their 5th and posed themselves for the photo to be snapped.

Just a second before the camera was about to hit the shutter, the black swordsman appeared in a chivalrous manner from behind, surprising them.

"Hey ladies. Taking some memorial photos?" greeted Kirito as he posed for the photo. It was at that moment the booth camera captured it. "Oh Ki-chan. What is it?" asked Day. "I need information. Kojima Saori, age 15, from Antares Middle School", answered Kirito.

Before they could answer, Night noticed that the camera in the booth had beeped, signalling the timer for it to snap photo and she told Day and Kirito to pose. The three of them does some free style pose.

Before the camera could captured that moment, two other girls appeared out of nowhere under them, it was Ayumu and Lisbeth. Those two spoiled the pose as they occupied the front space and covered Day and Night's finger pose.

"She's been missing for days", said Ayumu. "And we're looking for her", added Lisbeth before she and Hiro's little sister posed for the picture. The camera captured their pose but not Day, Night and Kirito.

Unfortunately, that was the last photo so the five of them had to go out. "Lis-chan, Ayumu-chan. You're mean!" scolded Night. "Sorry..." apologised Lisbeth and Ayumu.

"Come to think of it, a friend of mine see them recently", said Night, referring to the topic that the detectives wanted to discuss. "Where?" asked Lisbeth. "Under the bridge of Neil highway. They've been hanging out there often", answered Night. "But... why are you looking for a high school girl?" she asked the detectives.

"The Master at Barber Ventus was worried. Her daughter had not returned home for three days", answered Kirito. "So, that's why we asked you girls, because you might know where Saori or her associates usually hanged out", said Lisbeth. "According to what Kirito-kun heard from the client, Saori-chan was a good girl and wouldn't do something like this", stated Ayumu.

"Well, I suppose that is an understatement", stated Day as she went to one of the game booths, which is a shooting game against zombies. She put some tokens and took out one of the guns provided for it before started shooting the targets. The black swordsman was surprised about this while Ayumu joins in to shoot the zombie target game with the unoccupied gun.

"How come?" asked Kirito. "I am not sure about you guys, but most teenagers of this age are more rebellious than what you think and get into trouble often. Parents can be harsh on their children for hanging out with friends instead of studying to get good grades and career. You know, bad influence and all. Not just parents but teachers as well with whatever school stuff that went wrong with their pupils. Anyway, you'll find out for sure when you meet Saori-chan and her friends", explained Day.

Kirito remained quiet about this. Indeed, he would not understand the situation by arguing with the informants. Maybe there is more than meets the eye to Saori's behaviour and he must find out.

* * *

15 minutes later...

There are four teenagers consisted of two boys and two girls hanging out under the bridge of Neil highway. The boys are riding their bicycles around the area nearby while the girls are chatting near some flower beds. They were all wearing casual clothes but there are distinguishing features between them.

One of the boys wore glasses and his name was Tokura Yuta. The other boy, who had messy hair was Kuroba Satoru.

As for the girls, one of them tied her hair in an updo and she is Tokiwa Junko. Lastly, the other girl has long hair going down the shoulders and her face and eyes greatly bears resemblance with Kojima Takaharu. This is her daughter, Kojima Saori.

Kirito, Lisbeth and Ayumu arrived at their location a few minutes later. Before greeting those girls, they made sure they confirmed the description of Saori matches with the photo of her.

"Hello, are you Kojima Saori-san?" asked Kirito as he, Ayumu and Lisbeth approached them. The mentioned girl and her friend noticed the trio. "Yes, who might you be?" said Saori in confirmation and inquired. "My name is Kirito. They are Lisbeth and Ayumu", answered Kirito as he introduced himself as well as for Lisbeth and Ayumu.

"Hi", Ayumu greeted the girls younger than her. Kirito then clears his throat as he tries to start an English joke with Ayumu and Lisbeth, as per their plan. "Knock, knock", started Kirito. "Who's there?" asked Lisbeth. "It's Leaf", answered Kirito. "Leaf what?" asked Lisbeth again. "Leaf me alone!" said Kirito. Ayumu laughed hard from the punchline. However, the jokes do not seem to be working against Saori and Junko did not seem amused but instead annoyed.

"Nice one. It is my turn. What do you get when you cross cat with parrot?" asked Ayumu. Kirito and Lisbeth pretended to be curious. "What is it, Lis?" asked Kirito. "I don't know", said Lisbeth. "Carrots!" Ayumu said the punchline and when the blacksmith and black swordsman realised it, they both started laughing and so does Ayumu.

Those younger girls soon got fed up with the childish joke and stupid antics the detectives come up with. "Are you guys retarded?!" scolded Junko. Upon hearing that, the trio stopped and clears their throat.

"I knew it does not work", commented Lisbeth with sarcasm. "Guess we're not cut out for this", added Ayumu. "Well, our incompetency with humour asides, I thought you likes childish jokes like that, Saori-san?" asked Kirito towards Takaharu's daughter.

"I'm not a kid anymore!" retorted Saori sulkily as she walks slightly away from the trio. "What do you guys want?!" she questioned angrily. "Your father is worried. You should come home", answered Kirito.

"I can't go home! Leave me alone!" exclaimed Saori as she started going away from the detectives. "We're not having that", declared Kirito as he, Lisbeth and Ayumu went after their target. The updo hair girl decides to call the boys who were cycling to help. "Satoru, Yuta!" yelled Junko.

As the trio went after Saori, they got intercepted by the two boys cycling around the area. Satoru come from the front and Yuta from the back. "What do you want Saori, uncle and aunties?" questioned Satoru.

Upon hearing that, Lisbeth and Ayumu felt super offended. "Who are you calling aunties?!" barked Lisbeth. "I'm not that far from your age!" cried Ayumu. The two girls tried to teach Satoru a lesson with their fist, but the black swordsman stopped them with his arms despite being mocked as being way older than they look. "We are detectives", Kirito answered.

Upon hearing that, the messy hair boy became frowned. "Detective? What a troublesome bunch", retorted Satoru as he takes out something from his pocket. What he brought out was a Gaia Memory. It is red and the initial was B for Bird.

The detectives were horrified to see that and furthermore, in the hand of a teenager. "Gaia Memory!" exclaimed Lisbeth. "You… Do you even know what that even is?!" questioned Kirito worriedly. "Nope. All we know this is fun", retorted Satoru. "Don't joke! Hand it over!" barked Kirito as he brings out his hand, demanding the Gaia Memory from the messy hair boy.

"Yuta!" Satoru called out as he tossed the Bird Memory to his spectacled friend and the latter managed to catch it. "Okay! Let me show you!" declared Yuta as he activated the Gaia Memory and insert it into his forearm. **"Bird"**

The spectacled boy turned into a green bird like monster with wings and tall neck with bird head. On the normal human head was only an opened mouth. "Yay!" cheered Yuta after transforming. The detectives were horrified with seeing what happened. "I don't hear anything about this", muttered Ayumu.

"Get them!" ordered Satoru as he and Saori backs off. "Okay!" responded Yuta as he charged towards the trio by flying. Kirito, Ayumu, and Lisbeth quickly ducked and somehow managed to avoid getting hit as Bird flew over them and returned to his previous but higher position, in the sky.

"Looks like you need to be punished", muttered Kirito as he takes out the Double Driver and equipped it on his waist. "Hiro. Let us go", the black swordsman declared.

On the other side, Hiro was conscious but still on bed. What happened at the office was that a Hercules beetle entered from one of the windows. Although it was an insect, it was coloured in dark-blue and water-blue. In addition, it was not organic but man-made and look identical to a Memory Gadget. This is the Beetle Phone but who was the owner is yet to be determined.

"Hey, Kirito. There is a Hercules Beetle wandering in the office", stated Hiro. The black swordsman was confused yet annoyed because the bluenette spouted nonsense at time like this. "There's no way Hercules beetle are in this season!" retorted Kirito.

While the black swordsman was busy talking, the fowl Dopant uses this chance to fly and take the former up in the air by surprise. This also surprises Lisbeth and Ayumu. Specifically, Bird grabbed Kirito by his left leg and hang him invert, with his head facing downward and his leg upward.

"You idiot! Let me go!" barked Kirito before he looked at his situation and realised, he was at least five meters above ground, which definitely is a bad idea if Bird lets him go. "No! Don't let go!" he pleaded.

"Hey!" Satoru yelled as he shows a thumbs down gesture, suggesting that Yuta throw Kirito. Saori was shocked and pleaded her messy hair friend not to do it. Even if the black swordsman was not her well known acquaintance, she is against this payback.

"Okay! Bye-bye!" declared Bird as he promptly let go of Kirito. Lisbeth and Ayumu covered their eyes as they yelled and was not dare enough to see their friend getting hurt. The black swordsman was thrown off to fall on the ground and suffer some heavy injuries. Although, he managed to avoid that as Hiro realised the situation and transferred over Cyclone Memory to Kirito and ordered him to transform. "Henshin!" Kirito yelled after managed to put in Joker Memory and initiate the transformation. **"Cyclone. Joker"**

Luckily, the black swordsman managed to avoid high impact upon landing as his body was covered with armour just in time. Lisbeth and Ayumu felt relieved that their friend is okay and simultaneously, the Hercules Beetle gadget left the agency when Hiro's body collapsed. However, this spells bad news for those teenagers as they realised, they had messed up with the wrong person for prank. The worried look on Satoru's face says it all.

"Kamen Rider?!" gasped Saori upon the revelation that Kirito is a Kamen Rider. "Now, for payback!" declared Kirito as he changed the right-side memory to Luna. **"Luna. Joker"**

The yellow-black Kamen Rider then grabbed Bird with his stretchy right arm and puts the latter on the ground by force. "Ow!" yelped Yuta. "Now, for some spanking", declared Kirito as he decided to replace the left-side half with Metal. **"Luna Metal"**

Upon becoming the yellow-grey Kamen Rider, Kirito immediately take out the Metal Shaft and with Luna's memory power to elongate weapons, started whipping the fowl Dopant a few times for punishment.

Currently around, Kirito's stress and anger were at max for two reasons. He got beaten badly by Nasca without any help from Hiro and a bunch of kids trying to bully Kirito, whom they should respect.

Without anyone noticing, Junnosuke had followed Kirito to where he went up until this location, watching the whole events occurred. Though he hides and only watched from afar.

Sure, this does make him feel like a stalker, but he has intention to put an end to Kamen Rider Double. Considering there were children around, he decides to only watch for the time being.

From the first few whips, it causes immense pain, forcing Bird to admit defeat. Yuta yelped, "Ow. I give up! I give up!", the fowl Dopant untransformed and raise his arms in the air as signs of defeat, "I surrender…"

Luna Metal then approached while spinning the staff as he nagged, "Geez! What is a kid doing with that?! Huh?!" and then raises his left fist in anger as warning. "I'm sorry!" apologised Yuta. The yellow-grey Kamen Rider reached his left hand to the spectacled boy and demanded, "Now, hand it over." Fear to lose the Bird Memory, Satoru yelled, "Yuta, pass!"

Out of panic, the spectacled boy tossed over the Gaia Memory to the messy haired boy, who managed to catch it. **"Bird",** Satoru activates the Gaia Memory and stung it on the back of his forearm, transforming him into Bird as well. This surprises everyone, especially, Kirito, who gasped, "What?! The Memory can be used in more than one person!?" while glancing from Yuta and then to the now transformed Satoru.

It was not only the heroes but the villain who is watching this as well. _"That's impossible! A surgery with the **Living Connector Setting Operation Gun** is required to use a Gaia Memory. It shouldn't be possible for a single Memory to be used by multiple people," _thought Junnosuke.

While the heroes were surprised by this revelation of one Memory being used by multiple people, Bird quickly grabbed Saori and then flee. Luna Joker tried to give chase, but the fowl Dopant flew too fast for him to catch up immediately without leaving the scene. "Darn it! He got away!" growled Kirito.

The heroes then heard someone screaming in agony, which got their attention. It was Yuta, the user of Bird Memory just a while ago. He was holding his forearm tight while trying to suppress his pain. The place where he plugged the Gaia Memory was scarred, with hot steam coming out from it. Worried about him, Junko as well as Luna Joker approached the spectacled boy. "Hey, are you okay?!" asked Kirito worriedly. "Yuta! Yuta!" Junko called out worriedly while holding onto Yuta, with Lisbeth and Ayumu followed suit to help him.

Luna Metal stood and observed the situation as the black swordsman tried to ask his partner what is going on. "Hey, what happened here?" asked Kirito. "I don't know. This is my first time to have this situation as well. But it is very plausible what happened to this boy was due to multiple uses of Gaia Memory by multiple people. For the time being, get this boy to a hospital to get treatment and gathered information from his friend. Meanwhile, I will try to lookup into the details of Bird Memory and traced its original user," explained Hiro as he suggested the black swordsman and the girls to bring the victim to a hospital. As for Junnosuke, he quickly left the scene. Obviously, he does not feel happy about this as well.

* * *

That night, at Dial Corporation…

Junnosuke met up with his wife, who was still working in her office and sat at one of the couches before he explained the situation. "A Gaia Memory was distributed to kids under 15 years old. It's the Bird Memory," he reported.

"That's not good," Hermione responded as she continued with her work on laptop. Her husband then stood up and started walking around, expressing his disapproval. "The goal of Gaia Memory sales is to evolve humans into ideal lifeforms. I had no qualms with sacrificing a bunch of filthy adults but! This case goes against the rules," complained Junnosuke.

Hermione then turned to where her husband was and replied, "All right. I'll look into it." "Please do," requested Junnosuke earnestly. Then, the maroon haired president then stood up as she called, "Junnosuke-san," which got her husband's attention as she herself gets up and approaches him. "By the way, how is your body?" asked Hermione. Junnosuke responded with a smile as he proudly lifted a bit of his coat while saying, "Of course. I'm fine."

"I see," replied Hermione with a grin and a nod. She started fixing her husband's appearance while saying, "I'm counting on you, Dear."

* * *

Meanwhile, at Amanohara Hospital…

Kirito, Lisbeth, Ayumu and Junko managed to get Yuta here and get a doctor treated his injury. When asked about how the spectacled boy got this injury by the doctor, Junko could not answer. Not she could tell that Yuta as well as a few of his friends including herself is using Gaia Memory. Luckily, Kirito intervened and claimed that he himself, Yuta as well as the girls around there are experimenting the melting point of metals. During the experiments, a piece of the metal accidentally burst onto Yuta's skin, causing his current injury.

Junko was surprised to hear this, followed with Lisbeth and Ayumu coming out with the same excuses, which made her to go along as well. They got reprimanded and apologised for the improper handling while promising not to do it again.

In about 30 minutes, the doctor was able to treat Yuta's injury, but the spectacled boy got isolated in a room, which none of the visitors can come in. When a worried Junko asked how Yuta is doing from a female nurse that came out from the room, she replied his injury is not life threatening and will recover in time.

Relief that the spectacled boy is going to be all right, Junko finally calms down as she took a seat on the bench outside the isolation room. "I'm so glad…" the girl with the tied hair sighed in relief. "But, why does a bunch of middle schoolers like you guys used a Gaia Memory?" asked Kirito.

"It all began two days ago when Satoru called us out and he showed that thing. He said it was awesome and wants us to try it. I was scared at first, but it was so much fun when I got used to it. Yuta and Saori felt the same way. We took turns becoming Bird and fly. But suddenly Satoru started coming up with the idea to use Bird's power to do an attack from the sky," explained Junko.

"An attack from the sky?!" gasped Lisbeth. Junko continued, "Saori was against it till the very end but…", followed with Ayumu saying it, "He think he was having fun, isn't it?"

Upon hearing that, Lisbeth decided to ask, "How many places has he attacked? Is he planning another attack?". "There were about 6 places he had attacked so far, and he did say about doing so tomorrow. If I recall, it was Windy Ramen", said Junko. Lisbeth gasped, "The ramen cart?!", and began questioning, "Why would he want to attack that place?"

"I don't know but I bet Saori knew why," answered Junko. "Saori-chan knew the reason, huh?" muttered Ayumu. Kirito then said, "If that's the case, we should find her, but we don't know where to find her, not when it was this dark and she could be anywhere with Satoru out there."

"Our only option is to wait until tomorrow and prevent the attack, right?" deduced Lisbeth. Kirito then replied, "Yeah, that's the only way". "Junko-chan, can you tell us all the places where Satoru-kun had attacked? My brother might be able to figure out something should Saori-chan refused to answer our questions", requested Ayumu. "Okay," replied Junko as she told everything that they needed to know.

* * *

 **14th September 2060, Tuesday**

The next day around 2 pm, somewhere near the industrial area…

Windy Ramen owner is setting up his cart there for lunch. There were 2 customers that are having their ramen and they were Nobu Kouji and Kagami Tetsuo. They were having some discussion during the meal. "Hey! Did you hear? Seems like an amazing man is going to join our department," informed Tetsuo, "How is he amazing?" asked Kouji curiously.

Tetsuo slurped some noodles, chewed, and swallowed them before replying, "It seems like he does super work AND super handsome!". "For real?!" replied Kouji while his mouth is stuffed with food before continuing to chew.

However, Tetsuo completely ignored his co-worker as he started conversing with the owner. "Come to think of it, Master, your daughter is a regular in track club, right?" he asked. The ramen owner replied as he was wiping a bowl, "Yes, thank you for asking."

"She was in middle school, right?" asked Tetsuo as the owner responded with a nod as the police officer continued, "I wish I had a daughter around that age. You know, she can massage my shoulder…", and a girl's hand suddenly come and massaged his shoulders.

"Yes, yes, like that…" said Tetsuo happily without trying to know who it is until he suddenly got shoved to the right, fall off his seat and surprising everyone around there. It was Kojima Saori, who seems to be in a worry, quickly warned, "Please get away from here!"

"You are from Antares Middle School track club…" the ramen owner muttered before Saori rushed to the former while pushing away Kouji and pulled his left arm, insisting him to leave while pleading, "If you don't be quick, Satoru will! Hurry! Hurry!"

The people around there suddenly heard someone roared as something approaches from the sky, which got their attention. It was Satoru, transformed into Bird and he descend to the cart and starting shooting feather blades onto the floor, forcing all the people to duck from the attack before ascending, all the while laughing out of joy.

Tetsuo looked at what just attacked them, was surprised and gasped, "A birdman!". "One more time!" declared Satoru as he turned around, readying to launch another attack. Panicked, Tetsuo went to check his co-worker, who is lying face down and called out, "Hey, Nobu. Get up! It is coming again. Your injury is not so serious", while forcing him to get up.

As for Saori, she came forward, facing the fowl Dopant and pleaded, "Stop it!". Despite her attempts, Satoru refused to stop, flew towards the ramen owner as well as the police to assault them. They were frightened but Kirito soon arrived, riding the Hard-Boilder. The black swordsman was scared to do this stunt before arriving there, but he decided to do it. Just before Bird could come close, Kirito made Hard-Boilder leaped and crash against the former, knocking him away. Somewhat somehow, the black swordsman managed to land with the bike, pull the brakes and did not get thrown off from it. To be honest, that was his first time pulling off a stunt like that without becoming Double, which really scares him. Luckily, everything is fine.

Kirito quickly parked Hard-Boilder near Saori's position. As he takes off his helmet, the long hair girl approached him and begged, "Kirito-san, please, save Satoru!". The black swordsman approached her and replied, "Yeah. Leave it to me," before giving patting on her left side shoulder as gesture of assurance. Then Tetsuo approached Kirito worriedly while pleading, "Oh, Kirito. Call Kamen Rider, you're friends with him, right?".

The black swordsman swiftly replied, "Yes. I will. Kagami-san, please take everyone else to safety. Quickly," while leaving Saori in her care. The officer then took his co-worker, the ramen owner, and the long hair girl away from the scene for their safety.

At that time, Bird recovered and get up, furious. "You again?!" growled Satoru, which got the black swordsman attention. "Now. Playtime's over. Hand over the Memory, Satoru," declared Kirito as he puts out his hand for confiscation of item. Then, he comes forward saying, "That is not a toy for kids of your age to play with".

Offended with being treated like a brat, Satoru yapped, "Shut up!" and dashed towards the black swordsman. Luckily, Kirito quickly ducked and rolled away from this attack, causing Bird to miss.

As Kirito gets up, he muttered, "Looks like I have to dissuade you with force after all," and took out the Double Driver, equipped it on his waist. "Hey, Hiro," Kirito called out before hearing the voice of the mentioned person just a few metres behind him, "What is it, Kirito?"

The black swordsman looked behind and was surprised to see Hiro himself arrived with RevolGarry plus Lisbeth and Ayumu. It makes him wonder how the big vehicle arrived so fast without making any sound. Curious, Kirito asked his partner, "You… What are you doing here?".

The bluenette replied as he comes forward, "It's obvious. I am compensating for yesterday's fights and to punish bad children who will not listen to people's advice. Prepare yourself," before pointing at the fowl Dopant.

"Who do you think you are to say that?!" barked Satoru as he started launching feather blades at Hiro. The bluenette smirked with confidence and he was right to do so because before the attack could land on him, Fang Memory in his dinosaur mode appeared and deflect all the blades away. "And I don't have to worry because this guy comes to my rescue," Hiro stated before he put out his right palm and the dinosaur gadget landed on it as the Double Driver appeared on his waist as well.

The black swordsman sighed and muttered, "Geez, I don't really comprehend you and your actions," before approaching to the bluenette's left side. "Enough chatter. Let us settle this quickly," declared Hiro. "Yeah," replied Kirito as he took out the Joker Memory and activated it, **"Joker",** while Hiro fold the dinosaur gadget and flipped its tail to Memory mode and activated it as well, **"Fang"**

"Henshin!" Both Kirito and Hiro cried while pointing the Gaia Memory they hold to the left and right respectively with their opposite hands. As for Lisbeth and Ayumu, they were guessing whose body is going to fall so they could catch. Kirito inserted the Joker Memory into the slot, which then transferred over to the corresponding slot on Hiro's Double Driver, slightly uninserted. Then the bluenette pushed the appeared memory properly before injected Fang Memory and spread the Driver apart and rested of the gadget's head onto the buckle. **"Fang. Joker"**

The girls then come to the bluenette's right side, readying to catch his body while said, "Come on". Unfortunately, they are mistaken because it was Hiro's body that transformed into Kamen Rider Fang Joker. The black swordsman body then collapsed on the floor to his left side and uncaught. Upon realising they were wrong, the girls muttered in confusion, "That one?"

Furious for letting his body fell, Kirito berated, "Lis! Ayumu! I'm going to get you for this!" while lifting Fang Joker's left fist. As for Hiro, he did not care about this detail and proceeds to push down his left fist. "Now, count up your sins," the bluenette declared as he pointed his right index finger forward, which Kirito reluctantly followed being ignored.

The white-black Kamen Rider and fowl Dopant charged towards each other. Fang Joker comes off rather fast, diving towards Bird like a wolf, knocking him away. The fowl Dopant somehow managed to keep himself balanced while the white-black Kamen Rider rolled and turned around quickly for another attack. Satoru realised that he messed up with the wrong opponent and gasped, "What?! This guy… is dangerous!"

Worrying for his safety, Bird took off to the sky and flew as fast as he can. Fang Joker quickly climbed over a building to pursue. As the fowl Dopant flees, the white-black Kamen Rider sprint while jumping from the top of buildings to buildings. To Bird's surprise, Fang Joker was faster than expected, and eventually the latter managed to leap and grabbed him, bringing both to the ground.

The place they crashed onto was a wide walkway outside a bus station. Upon landing with Bird, Fang Joker punched the former with his right arm on the face before backing off. As the fowl Dopant gets the strength to get up, the white-black Kamen Rider tapped onto the dinosaur horn on the Double Driver. **"Shoulder Fang",** a blade came out of the right shoulder and Fang Joker pulled it out to use as a dagger.

The fowl Dopant tried to fight back but the white-black Kamen Rider quickly cut onto his body. Bird tried to counter but Fang Joker dodged by rolling and then continue to slash onto the former. "Hiro! Memory Break!" ordered Kirito. "Roger!" responded Hiro in agreement. Then, he started tapping onto the horn three times, one at a time while pushing the fowl Dopant away.

 **"Fang. Maximum Drive",** the blade that Fang Joker used on his disappeared and come out on the right ankle instead. The white-black Kamen Rider rushed towards the defenceless Bird and performed a jump roundhouse kick while yelling, "Fang Strizer!"

Satoru was knocked out of the transformation along with the Gaia Memory as they dropped onto the floor. Luckily, he was not badly injured from the Memory Break because he was not in the sky. At that time, Lisbeth and Ayumu who are carrying Kirito's body just arrived and put him to lean against the wall of a stairs that they climbed upon reaching the top. Saori was there as well and when she saw Satoru laid on the ground, she quickly went to check on him.

"Satoru! Satoru?!" the long hair girl called out to her friend worriedly as she holds him in his arm. Satoru soon gains consciousness and upon seeing his friend, he muttered, "Saori?"

Realising that her friend is okay, Saori sighed in relief and muttered, "I'm so glad…". Kirito, Ayumu and Lisbeth were glad as well since everything work fine. "Well, it works out somehow…" muttered the black swordsman. However, the bluenette did not feel the same way. The Gaia Memory that came out from Satoru's body was intact despite being hit so hard with a Memory Break.

"Wait, this is strange. We do a Memory Break, but Bird Memory was intact," said Hiro as Fang Joker approached to where the Gaia Memory was and tried to pick it up. However, because the white-black Kamen Rider could retrieve the Memory, Satoru suddenly writhe in pain as he yelped, which got the former's attention. Worrying about the messy haired boy, Fang Joker ignored picking Bird Memory and went to check on the latter, with Lisbeth and Ayumu doing that as well. Just like what happened with Yuta, a deep burn mark appeared on Satoru's forearm with steam coming out of it. "Hey, what is going on here?" asked Kirito worriedly.

Without anyone realising, Junnosuke appeared and picked up the Bird Memory while saying out loud casually, "It's the side effect of multiple people using the same Gaia Memory. Normally, that should not happen because one Gaia Memory should only be usable by the one who undergo the operation to do so," before keeping it in his coat.

To Fang Joker, especially Kirito, was not happy in many ways than one. The grey-haired man treated this problem lightly, as if he himself was innocent.

Fang Joker approached Junnosuke with Kirito's voice scolding, "Don't talk like this is not your problem! You sell these things to kids!", before grabbing and pulling him by the shirt. The grey-haired man pushed the white-black Kamen Rider away and protested, "We had no record of selling Memories to people underage!"

As Junnosuke walked away about a few metres, Kirito questioned in anger, "If that's true, how did this happen?!". "I'm investigating that now. More importantly…" responded Junnosuke before he turned around, put on the Gaia Driver, brings out the Nasca Memory and transformed into the cyan Dopant. "Fang Joker. I will settle things with you first!" he declared before charging towards the white-black Kamen Rider.

 **"Arm Fang",** the white-black Kamen Rider tap on the dinosaur's horn and a blade appeared from the right wrist. Nasca and Fang Joker crossed their weapons against each other using a katana and wrist dagger, respectively.

Then, they back off, the cyan Dopant tried to strike onto the white-black Kamen Rider, which the latter avoided and vice versa. Both clashed their weapons against each other, emitting sparks, go the other direction and turned around.

Nasca comes with a left to right swing, which Fang Joker dodged by leaping and over the former. The cyan Dopant turned around, doing a diagonal slash from southwest direction, which the white-black Kamen Rider avoided with a backflip.

Though, Nasca managed to quickly land a hit on Fang Joker with a right to left swing, halting the latter's movement before pushing him back with a reverse horizontal swing. When the cyan Dopant tried to strike again, the white-black Kamen Rider then turned around and leaped over a 300 metres gap to the other side.

"Got you!" declared Nasca as he flew over with superspeed and attempted to do a vertical from top swing onto Fang Joker. The white-black Kamen Rider blocked it with the wrist blade and grabbed a portion of the katana using the left hand, stopping the cyan Dopant's movement. Nasca was surprised and gasped, "What?! It cannot be! How?!"

"I sensed your attack and moved instinctively," said Hiro before Fang Joker let go and counter with a roundhouse strike from the wrist blade. "And!" the bluenette started before Kirito continued the sentence, "Fighting villains like you fills me with power!", all the while Fang Joker lands a left punch, followed with a left high kick, then another left punch, afterwards from right and a left punch to Nasca's face, knocking him over to the railings.

The cyan Dopant got annoyed and barked, "Don't get cocky! Super speed!", when the white-black Kamen Rider attempted to land a right punch, he vanished, causing the latter to grab onto the railings instead. Fang Joker turned around, wondering where Nasca went, and in a blink of an eye, appeared a few metres behind the former with some sniggering.

The white-black Kamen Rider noticed and tried to strike but the cyan Dopant was faster while doing so with a diagonal swing from bottom left, knocking the former to the right. As Fang Joker rolled over and recover, Nasca used the super speed ability and attempted to finish off the former. However, the cyan Dopant suddenly halted and was forced to back off as he writhed in pain, not knowing what happened before he fell on his knees.

"What?! My body can't keep up with the super speed…" muttered Junnosuke in disbelief from what just happened to him. Noticing that Nasca is wide open, Hiro cried, "Now!", and Fang Joker attempted to deliver the finishing blow on his opponent. While the white-black Kamen Rider is approaching the cyan Dopant, Kirito notices something and suddenly shouted, "Stop, Hiro!".

At that time, Fang Joker was about to finish off Nasca with a roundhouse slash and upon hearing that, the bluenette tried to halt his movement. Just to make sure the attack stopped, Kirito did his part as well, moving Fang Joker's left hand to grab and stopped the right arm.

Luckily, the cyan Dopant was not hit, and the tip Arm Fang stopped just near the throat. Nasca was surprised by what Fang Joker did and asked, "Why… did you stop?"

"I don't know…" replied Kirito as the white-black Kamen Rider puts down his right arm. "Just…", the black swordsman replied as Fang Joker's sight glanced to something on behind Nasca and said, "that over there caught my eye".

The cyan Dopant then turned to his back to where the white-black Kamen Rider was looking at and saw a poster pasted on the wall. The poster had a picture of Amano-chan, the mascot of Amanohara City that Junnosuke was so proud of because he designed it when he was in third grade.

"You said it before… that you love this city," said Kirito before Fang Joker glanced to Nasca, which the latter returned the gaze in silence. "If that's true, then don't let that happen to children again," the black swordsman pleaded as the white-black Kamen Rider turned to where Lisbeth and the others are. The cyan Dopant followed the gaze and saw Saori, desperately crying for her friend, Satoru, not to die after his injury was caused from multiple uses of Bird Memory by multiple users including himself.

A moment later, Fang Joker disengaged the Gaia Memories before turning to where Nasca was and both untransformed. "Take him to the hospital…", muttered Junnosuke regrettably to Hiro before the latter walked away and left.

The bluenette then turned to where Saori and the others were and approached them. At the same time, Kirito woke up, get up and helped Satoru by giving a support on his left arm. Lisbeth assisted by giving a support with the messy haired boy's other arm. By that time, the bluenette arrived and came to inspect Satoru's left forearm that has the burnt scar while saying, "The memory didn't break must have been related with this side effect."

Not wanting to delay any longer, Saori intervened by pushing her friend's arm away with her own left arm from Hiro, which he caught a glance of a Living Connector port on her forearm. "Let's hurry to the hospital!", she ordered worriedly. Kirito and Lisbeth lift Satoru by supporting him with their shoulders, with Ayumu and Saori escorting them.

As for Hiro, he stood and began pondering about what he saw. Saori had a Living Connector Port on her forearm and the bluenette believed he should do a lookup with all the evidences he had. However, the bluenette decides to put this case's analysis on hold as he must catch up with everyone else first.

* * *

An hour later…

Kirito and the others returned to the agency after coming back from the hospital. Saori was brought here as well. Meanwhile, Hiro was in the garage and had Strea's help to find the connections between the assaults that was done by Satoru while the bluenette himself tried to lookup about Bird Memory.

As for Kirito, Lisbeth and Ayumu, the three of them are questioning Saori. However, regardless of what questions they asked, even in a roundabout way, the long hair girl was so stubborn and kept silent. "Hey, Saori-chan. Why you do not want to return home? Why do you keep quiet?", asked Lisbeth worriedly.

"You know, you could at least say something. How can we understand your situation if you do not cooperate with us?", said Kirito. "For starters, we do not reveal anything to anyone outside, not even to your friends, who might think bad of you. Any information the clients provided will be kept confidential. Even if your father asked the truth from us, we would not tell him unless you decide to tell him yourself. So, come on, be honest, or else you are going to regret it even more than you ever do," pleaded Ayumu.

Regardless of what they said, Saori remained to be stubborn and kept quiet. Suddenly, Strea appeared on Kirito's right shoulder as a six-inch hologram. "Kirito, I figured out something", she reported, which got everyone's attention.

"What is it?", asked Kirito. "First things first. The places that Satoru attacked are police station, convenience store, tyre shop, and a veterinary clinic. Just with this, I had no idea how they can relate but by looking into the details of the people who worked there, I noticed that the owners or the workers all had a daughter of the same age as Saori. From that, by looking into their daughter's education background, I figured out that all of the girls joined the track club and there will be a competition which will took place a week from now involving all of them, including Saori herself as the contestants," explained Strea.

Upon hearing that, Saori became nervous, her facial expression started to change from silent to worry. "Wait! Those places that got attacked are where the parents of Saori's rivals worked at?!", guessed Lisbeth in surprise. "Yes," replied Strea in confirmation.

"Then that means…", muttered Ayumu as she tried to conclude but suddenly Saori gets up and confessed regrettably, "That's right! Satoru did all that for me! I twisted him!" as she run towards the small round table, showing only her backs to Kirito and the others.

The black swordsman and the others were shocked to hear all this. While they can understand why Satoru did it for Saori's sake, they could not comprehend how it even happens. It was at this time, Hiro came out from the garage and approached the long hair girl while saying, "Also, it was not Satoru who got the Bird Memory, it was you who had it right off the bat."

Kirito and the others were surprised from what the bluenette said, leading Lisbeth to ask, "What do you mean, Hiro?". The bluenette then put away his book and gently said, "Excuse me for this…", before he proceeds to bring up's Saori's left sleeve, revealing a bio connector, hold her left forearm and showed it to everyone else.

Kirito and the others were surprised when they saw this as the bluenette continued explaining, "Everyone. On her forearm, she had the Living Connector that her friends did not have," before letting go of her arm gently.

Realising that she must tell the truth, Saori began to explain, "Lately… I could not perform well during the training. The tournament was near, but I could not help to feel depressed. When I was on my home from school, I met some woman that I did not know. For some reason, she knew I was depressed and offered to help me."

"Did that woman gave you Bird Memory?", asked Kirito and Saori replied, "Yes". Then, the bluenette proceeded to ask, "Do you remember how she looks like?", hoping that it will give a lead to who gave the Bird Memory to this long hair girl.

"She was wearing a black dress and veil to cover her face. I could not even discern how she looks like," replied Saori before she continued, "That person took out some strange gun like syringe and put the Bird Memory in it and I was scared with what she wants to do. But she said it is all right and asked me to stick out my arm. It did not really hurt that much when she injected me with that gun, and she gave me that Memory. She told me everything will go well once I use the Memory and then left off somewhere. I felt wary to use it at first but once I transformed into Bird, it felt so amazing and the slump that I felt before was not even there. I did well during practice too. But I felt scared after using it…".

"So, you showed the Memory to Satoru?", guessed Kirito. "He said, 'Let me try it too," and I lend it to him. But I did not think it would work on him when I thought I was the only one who can use it… Sorry! Sorry!" said Saori before she apologised regrettably and started crying. "It was all my fault! It was all my…", the long hair girl continued to wail while stuttering to blame herself for what happened to her friends.

Kirito and the others kept quiet, trying their best not to say anything unnecessary. Surely, they know, the one who is responsible was that mysterious woman, no, the entire organisation, who distributed Gaia Memories to the people and caused sufferings to everyone.

Eventually, Saori stopped crying but she fell unconscious in the process. Hiro helped her out, carry her to the bed so she can lie down before putting a blanket over her. "Poor girl. She cried so much that she fell asleep," said Ayumu with sympathy.

"It cannot be helped, Ayumu. This is quite a trauma for her to handle. She never expected that her friends got hurt because of using her Gaia Memory. I was about your age when I got trapped in SAO. Back then, most of the players thought it was just the typical online multiplayer games where you can have fun at your own leisure, not as inmates in a prison where we all go around taking the lives of each other," explained Lisbeth. The black swordsman asked his partner, "Hiro, what are we going to do?"

Hiro then turned around and said, "For the time being, Saori-chan should be okay. We will watch over her till she wakes up. Kirito, in the meantime, let Master know that Saori-chan is resting for a while and we will send her home once she wakes up. In case she does not want to go home yet, let him know that she can stay with us until then."

"Okay. Then, I will go to see him," said Kirito before he gets up, readying to leave. However, the bluenette stood and said, "Wait, Kirito. If things were to develop for the worst, let me speak with Master".

The black swordsman was surprised and responded, "Eh? What do you mean?". "I am worried because this incident is a lot different than what we had encountered before. In fact, this is my first-time handling multiple people that had been using the same Gaia Memory," Hiro said before asking, "Before I continue, you all do know that brand items or pretty much any merchandise had serial or registration numbers on them right? Why do you think it is necessary to have them?"

"Well, if we're talking about brand watches for example, two people probably bought the same type of watch but if one of them loses them and saw the other one holding the same type of watch, the other person accused the one wearing the watch for stealing. If the watches were bought from the same shop, they can check the serial number moulded onto the watches to see who bought which. That way, even if one lies, the registration number will be the proof of truth," explained Lisbeth.

"Exactly. I have seen people using the same initial and name of Gaia Memories but not with the same serial numbers. I mean, even if the products are from bad people, business is still business and they had to keep track of what Gaia Memory they sold," agreed Hiro as he added more. This causes Ayumu to scratch her head, wondering what her brother is trying to imply as she asked, "I get that part as well as what Onii-chan had told everyone about Gaia Memories before. But can you get to the point?"

"Before I do that, another question. Do you know why no one shares toothbrush, Ayumu?", Hiro asked back. His little sister looked at him, all confused, wondering why he asked her something unrelated again.

Lisbeth then decides to answer the bluenette's question in his sister's place, "Isn't it obvious? The reason you do not share was because it is not hygienic. Someone might carry disease and infected the others if people shared the same toothbrush. It's not just toothbrushes, combs and towels aren't allowed to be share even among family members for the same reason."

Hiro nodded and said, "Exactly, and that is what going on in for almost every case with Gaia Memories. The users of Gaia Memories become addictive and eventually go insane with each transformation. That is only true if someone transformed at least 10 times."

"Then, it should be fine if you transformed less than that?", asked Kirito. "Not entirely. That was just only an example. Like I said, Gaia Memories had similar properties like tobacco. Once you start using, it is almost impossible to stop. Sooner or later, it all ends the same. Hence, it depends on every individual as well whether how quick or how late they got affected," explained Hiro.

"You told us all that before. But what is so worrying about this case?" asked Kirito. "So far, we know Saori-chan was the real user, right?", inquired Hiro. "Yeah, so?", responded Ayumu before the bluenette continued, "I only realised this when I did a lookup a while ago but it seems some of the Gaia Memories, especially the Bird Memory that was used by the children is abnormal. It had unique characteristic in addition to the existing side effect. Using it will transfer your mind and soul into the Memory itself. On top of that, whether it was you yourself that use it or somebody else, it will still bring your mind and soul into it. Eventually, it is like putting every part of your life into a Gaia Memory. So, the bad thing that is happening here is, every time Saori-chan uses Bird Memory, her life is trapped in the Gaia Memory itself and the same thing happens even if she was not the one using it."

Upon hearing that, Kirito and the others were shocked, prompting the black swordsman to question, "Hey, that means Saori's life is in grave danger?". The bluenette nodded in confirmation and said, "Exactly. The next time she transformed into Bird, doing a Memory Break will just kill her."

Hearing the word "kill", surprises everyone further, starting with Lisbeth to worriedly inquire, "No way… Is there no way to save her?", while hoping there is a solution.

"From my lookup, there is one way. A Maximum Drive is needed to hit that Memory directly and the effect should vanish. However, if by chance she transformed into Bird, we need to specifically use a pinpoint Maximum Drive and strike at where the Memory exactly was. The most appropriate option is for me and Kirito to use Cyclone Trigger and combined the magnum with Bat Shot since we need to emphasise accuracy and speed over power," explained Hiro.

Ayumu then responded, "Then, it shouldn't be a problem," before her brother shook her head in disagreement and explained, "No. It is the opposite. The Memory's location would be random, and it could be anywhere within the body every time someone transformed into Dopant. Double's vision does not filter the layers of tissue and none of the gadgets we got had X-ray features to see beyond the skin. The other option is to make Bird Memory resonates but again, we got nothing to achieve that purpose."

Hearing that causes everyone to be worried again, prompting Lisbeth to ask, "Then, what should we do?". "Our only hope is that the toxin within Bird Memory hadn't effect Saori-chan as of now and caused her to be crazy. If she does not turn insane and addicted, we should be all right. Plus, if we run into Junnosuke again, I will ask him if we can get Bird Memory and let us destroy with a Maximum. This might be an illogical decision, but it is better than getting Saori-chan becoming Bird and not being able to do anything. Judging from his behaviour in the previous encounter, I could not think he was lying by any means", explained Hiro.

Kirito replied, "Guess that is our best hope for this," and the bluenette responded with a nod. There was a brief silence, before the black swordsman said, "Then, for the time being, I'll go see Master. He should at least know we found her," and left the agency to meet Kojima Takaharu.

While the girls were not in the mood to do anything else after hearing all the bad things that could happen to Saori, Hiro suggested not to get those fears control them from doing what is right and reminded he will take responsibilities if anything bad happens. Hence, he asked them to prepare some snacks and tea since Saori might be hungry after waking up. The girls then nodded and get up to prepare the servings.

As for the bluenette, he glanced to where Saori was, wishing that she is not affected. However, unbeknownst to all of them, the long hair girl was unfortunately affected and away from their sights, her eyes opened and stared creepily with swelling black spots surrounding her eyes, waiting for the time to act.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Elisabeth Mansion…

Junnosuke met up with his wife at home, handing her the Bird Memory that he held onto and she said, she will do something about it. The grey-haired man then proceeds into their bedroom, resting for a bit. Upon lying down, he was filled with curiosity as to what happened to him.

Today, for some reason, when fighting Double as Fang Joker, his body suddenly felt immense pain when using the super speed ability. How can that even happen?

He trained days and night, just to make sure his wife acknowledged him and even levelled up to level 2, a stage which is practically impossible for regular Dopants to achieve.

He was practically unbeatable but why it happened? Unlike normal Dopants, he should be free from the side effects of Gaia Memories, such as the toxins that could corrupt his mind. Then why? Suddenly, it popped to his mind about what Hermione asked him yesterday about his well-being. Is this what she meant? Her question had more than what he should be aware about? Curious to know the answer, he decided to ask Hermione about it.

Junnosuke gets up from the bed and out from the bedroom. He walked around the mansion, looking for his wife. He called out for her, hoping she would answer while checking the rooms to see if she were in there.

*clack*

When checking one of the rooms, Junnosuke heard some strange sound, as if something, like a door just opened and it was very close. The grey-haired man quickly went to the corner of the wall he is facing and peeked. He saw Hermione just came out from a wall having a shelf full of small antiques leaning against it with a lamp stand beside it, but he quickly hid himself so that she would not saw him. Whether she saw him or not, he would not know unless she called out to him. However, his sister-in-law, Sara, who just passed by, saw him but he was not paying attention with his surroundings but to what he just caught a glimpse of.

Hermione walked out from what seems to be a secret door and then proceeds to enter another room. Junnosuke then come out from hiding and approach the shelf. "Is this a secret door? What is in here?", he muttered while glancing at the shelf in front of him before turning to the lamp stand that was switched on, to his left and turn the switch. The lamp was turned off and suddenly the shelf slide opened to the left, revealing a secret passage.

Curious to learn what is in there, Junnosuke went inside, without knowing that Sara saw him and this secret door before it closes. The grey-haired man keeps going throughout the passage. To where? He does not know. It is his first time seeing this, in his new home after quite a few months and no one, not even his wife told him about this. He was curious yet filled with fear about going through a place he may not supposed to be around. Eventually, he found an elevator, then pressed the button with down direction on the sides, which it opens and went inside.

On the panel, there was only two buttons for the floors to travel to, which does not display anything. Since the elevator is going down, the top button should represent the current floor and the bottom one should go somewhere. Hence, he pressed the bottom button and the door closes before the elevator started lowering itself.

Eventually, when the elevator stopped and the door opened, Junnosuke saw another passage with many guide lights, leading what seems to be like a cave. Unlike the ones in the mansion, the walls were not painted at all, only covered with cements. The floor seems to have a bit of its rough spots as well. The grey-haired man can tell this is not natural because there is no elevator connecting to an underground cave unless built.

As Junnosuke walked out from the elevator, he muttered, "This is under Elisabeth's estate? Just what is under here?", with curiosity with the purpose this hidden passage was built for. He continued the path, eventually reaching a spacious area out of the narrow passage. Then, he saw a set of cemented stairs with those guide lights installed, leading to a slightly higher platform and climb over them before finding something that caught his eye.

In the centre, there is a well that seems to be emitting some light from within its pit. Surrounding its structure was not bricks but metals, all combined to form a machine, a control device of a sort. This is proved further by the fact that there is a computer with its access panels. There is also a small set of stairs, which is not meant for someone to plunge in there carelessly.

Junnosuke approached the well, looking at what seems to be a bottomless hole. "Just what is this place?", he muttered. "This is the place where we obtain memories from the Earth. The place where Gaia Memories are born. And I named it the Memory Pit", a familiar male voice explained as that person came from the somewhere of the opposite direction Junnosuke came from. That person was Shane Gerald Elisabeth, his father in law, who carrying the family's pet cat, Riki.

The grey-haired man was slightly surprised to see his father in law and muttered, "Otou-san…". "Junnosuke-kun, welcome to Geo", Shane stated, which the grey-haired was surprised about the name as he muttered, "Geo?". "Gaia Engineering Oracle. That is the full name", explained Shane as he walked towards the stairs and placed Riki there before saying, "Even now, mysteries are abundant in the Earth's memories. What is it that humanity has yet to uncover? What history that was carved by the people in the far past that none of the generations today were aware about yet only Earth remembers? Gaia Memories is among those mysteries that we pursue to uncover. However, just like in every aspect of science, experiment is needed to ensure whether these findings are for the good or bad of humanity."

The blonde then approached the computer and tapped onto one of the keys while saying, "That is the reason why…", and the well suddenly had lights spiking outward and upward, displaying some incomprehensible language, which surprises Junnosuke before the father-in-law said, "distributed Gaia Memories throughout Amanohara".

The grey-haired man was rendered speechless with the display provided by his father-in-law. Shane then tapped onto other keys, making those spikes of data calm down and something else appeared on the monitor he is using. "Right now, the one I am interested is the Bird Memory", he muttered.

Upon hearing that, Junnosuke was greatly shocked and it came to his realisation that the Bird Memory was intentionally handed over to children, not an accident by any sellers. Furthermore, from the same sentence, he figured out who did this and asked his father-in-law, "Could it be… Otou-san ordered Hermione to give that Memory to those children?".

Shane only replied, "Children who are not quite adults can provide more precise, good data", which he did not say it directly, but the context of his sentence suggested it was a yes, to Junnosuke's horror. "Those pure minds and bodies will surely evolve the Bird Memory rapidly", the blonde man continued as he walked away slightly before halting and said, "And then, it will hit the eventual limit".

Upon hearing that, Junnosuke can only conclude as he walked towards his father-in-law but stopped halfway, "Are you saying that people who've used it have died?!"

"Their deaths were not in vain. The data we've received from them was a big contribution to us Geo", said Shane. "But they're just children!", argued Junnosuke, not agreeing with the method his father-in-law had implemented.

"So what?", asked Shane in a cold tone. The grey-haired man was shocked and can tell that his father-in-law had no qualms in sacrificing children, just for some goal. "I won't let that happen!", declared Junnosuke as he took out the Nasca Memory and the Gaia Driver, equipped it and transformed.

* * *

At the same time, in Asaka Detective Agency…

Hiro is compiling some of the paperwork while Lisbeth and Ayumu are preparing snacks. Without any of them noticing, Saori was in fact awake right before Kirito even left to see her father and she is waiting for the right time. Apparently, now is that time for her to go.

Saori got up from the bed, and approach Lisbeth who had just finished putting down a few plates, which the latter noticed before being slapped by surprise and fell on the floor. Ayumu noticed what happened, approached Takaharu's daughter and asked worriedly, "What's wrong, Saori-chan?!", while tried to restrain her but the former got pushed away and landed on Lisbeth. Hiro quickly gets up and approached Ayumu and Lisbeth before asking, "Are the two of you okay?"

"Give me Bird Memory! I wanted to fly more!", shouted Saori demandingly which got the trio's attention. "What's wrong with her?!", asked Lisbeth worriedly as she turned to the bluenette, who gritted his teeth in frustration. "The influence of the Memory was much stronger and reacted faster than what I anticipated! She is really losing it!", explained Hiro.

Saori then leaped over the trio in one try and headed towards the exit but Hiro quickly throw a transmitter trackable with Spider Shock and it managed to stick onto the back of her cloth, which would not fall off so easily unless she removed it herself.

Ayumu and Lisbeth panicked, with the former asking worriedly, "What are we going to do?!". "Contact Kirito. I managed to latch a transmitter on her", said Hiro as he showed another spare transmitter he had, which surprises them. "Since when?", asked Lisbeth but Hiro quickly ordered, "Just now! More importantly, tell him to find her double time!"

* * *

As for Kirito, he was at Barber Ventus, informing Kojima Takaharu that his daughter was found and currently resting at Asaka Detective Agency. The black swordsman added that he himself will bring her once she is awake and excuse himself to go check on her. By the time Kirito was outside and about to start up the bike, he got a call from Ayumu. As per Hiro's instructions, she told the black swordsman the situation and to use Spider Shock's tracker to find Saori.

"All right, I got her location. I'm going to find Saori-chan", replied Kirito after hearing the situation and activate the tracking mode for the transmitter on Saori. By chance, Takaharu happened to be observing, heard the mentioning of her daughter's name and out of curiosity went outside and asked the black swordsman, "Kirito-san, is there anything wrong with Saori?"

Kirito remembered not to say anything unnecessary to make his client worry as what Hiro reminded and convincingly lied, "No worries. It's okay", before starting up the Hard Boilder and left to find Saori, with Takaharu shouting, "I'm counting on you!"

* * *

Elsewhere, in town…

Saori continues wondering aimlessly, desiring to fly and want to use the Bird Memory. While heading into a pedestrian tunnel, she encounters a familiar looking lady, all dressed in black with a veil concealing the face. It was Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth, the one who gave Saori the Bird Memory.

The long-haired girl saw the black clothed lady face to face and muttered, "Bird…", which the latter smirked in response. "We meet again, Miss. You wanted to fly more?", asked Hermione and Saori responded immediately, "Yes. Give me… Bird Memory". "Very well. Fly to your heart's content", agreed Hermione as she handed over the Bird Memory to Saori, who accepted it in return before the former turned around and left, but not before saying with an eerie smirk, "Until you die".

* * *

Back to the underground of Elisabeth Mansion…

Junnosuke, who transformed into Nasca pointed his katana at Shane near the throat. However, his father-in-law was by no chance terrified and calmly smile about it. "Tell me! How can I save her?!", demanded Nasca and Shane answered, "Just target the exact location of Bird Memory. But why do you ask that?"

Nasca quickly retorted, "It's obvious! I'm going to save the children…!", before suddenly collapsing to the floor and barely managed not to completely fall by stabbing the katana on the ground. "What?! Not again!", he gasped worriedly.

"Junnosuke-kun. Looks like your body is not doing well. You finally made it far with achieving level 2 but I guess this is your limit…", Shane commented calmly and was not surprised with the spasm happening on Nasca.

From hearing that, Junnosuke muttered in disbelief, "Impossible… How can this happen to me?!", before Shane reminded, "Didn't I said it when I gave this Memory to you? There is a chance this Memory will kill you".

Junnosuke was greatly shocked from the revelation, or rather something that he overlooked. It was when Hermione brought him to meet her father. At that time, Junnosuke recalled he acted all high and mighty, believing he was a son-in-law whom Shane can put his expectation on.

Realising the error that he had neglected, Junnosuke muttered in doubt, "Then, I am…?", which Shane continued, "Indeed. You are also a test subject, all for the sake of uncovering the mysteries about Nasca Memory. Well, to say it bluntly, everyone who uses Gaia Memories, including myself are test subjects, to discover the secrets of all Gaia Memories. It goes without saying, the Kamen Riders too, whether they noticed it or not. To be honest, those pesky detectives are really obstructing Geo's goal and must be eliminated. However, after contemplating about this matter, I might as well let them do as they please for the time being. It saves us the trouble of stopping the test subjects that would pose problems to Geo".

"What…?!", gasped Junnosuke, who could not believe what he just heard, while struggling to stay awake as he continued to writhe in pain. Shane noticed his son-in-law did not have long to live and asked, "Does it hurt? But I will put you at ease", before putting on the Gaia Driver, took out his Gaia Memory and transformed into Terror. **"Terror"**

The cyan Dopant stood up, which he barely could do it straight due to the excessive pain that he felt. "It's a pity… to lose a member of the family," announced Terror before he elevates to the air and some black pool that spells murder death pit appeared, spreading on the floor.

Nasca, who hardly could stand got caught into it, got electrocuted and fell on his knees again. While it is true Junnosuke himself is having intense pain and felt his life is fading in every second, dying is not an option, not now. He wanted to save the children who fell prey into Gaia Memories and only he can help Kamen Rider Double save them[WAHBWMR1] .

"Not yet… Super speed!", cried Nasca before he somehow managed to flee from the pool and left. After seeing what happened, Terror could only sigh as he descended and untransformed, reverting to Shane. "It cannot be helped…", he said before approaching the family pet cat and said, "Riki, finish the job". Shane then put a Gaia Driver on the Riki, before bringing out a Gaia Memory. It was a golden version of Gaia Memory, with the initial S that has fang on each end of the letter, representing Smilodon. **"Smilodon",** Shane activated the Gaia Memory and inserted it into the driver, which turns Riki into Smilodon Dopant. The now transformed sabre-tooth tiger dopant then ferociously sprint to eliminate his target, Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth.

* * *

As for Kirito, he is speeding up on the road, while trying to reach the location of Saori with the transmitter Hiro had latched onto her. Currently, it seems he is getting closer to where she is. The black swordsman noticed that a girl just came out from a pedestrian tunnel, which is also the location he was approaching. He recognised the appearance and when he stopped the vehicle, he saw the transmitter that looks familiar with the one Spider Shock had for tracking. There is no doubt this girl is Kojima Saori.

The girl himself has not noticed the black swordsman until he called out to her, "Saori-chan," which only then she turned and noticed him as he took off his helmet. "Kirito-san…", muttered Saori and Kirito invited, "Let's go home".

Takaharu's daughter did not reply anything and showed up the Bird Memory that she has in her hand, which greatly surprised the black swordsman. "That Memory? Where did you get it from?!", gasped Kirito worriedly. Saori replied, "I was given it by someone. Now I can fly more!". Kirito reached out his hand and yelled, "Stop!", but Saori activated the Gaia Memory and insert it into the bio connector on the bottom side of her forearm, transforming her into Bird Dopant. **"Bird"**

The black swordsman was too late to stop her as she already transformed. To make it worse, Saori expressed her excitement of turning into the fowl dopant, while not realising she just trigger a death switch for herself.

"Why…", Kirito muttered before his voice increases in volume, "Why does this have to happen?! You could have avoided death yet! Why do you guys fall so easily to the influence of evil?!"

The black swordsman never once imagined this but now he understood, what Hiro had felt when he fought Dopants where the users might have been the people he was close with, what Asaka Fuuto went through when trying to stop his partner who had gone astray. This is what they felt at this moment.

People who had gave in to despair chooses to sell their souls to the devil to obtain what they desire, at the cost of becoming insane, forsaking what could be a future for themselves and losing their lives meaninglessly over something nonsensical. Gaia Memories are terrifying and easily corrupt humans, whether the users are good or bad.

Despite what Kirito said, Bird or rather Saori was not paying attention to him and felt no regret whatsoever. Without saying anything, the black swordsman put on the Double Driver on his waist.

At the detective agency, the bluenette was silenced when he realises the Double Driver appeared on his waist as well and can only tell that it was too late to prevent the worst-case scenario he mentioned not long ago.

"Kirito. Now that Saori-chan used Bird Memory to transform, I don't know how to bring her back to normal. If we carelessly attack her, she'll die," said Hiro. "But we're the only ones who can stop her! We'll have to do this!", declared Kirito. "All right…", replied Hiro as he brings out the Cyclone Memory and activated it. **"Cyclone" "Trigger" "** Henshin!" Hiro's mind ride over to Kirito and the latter's body become Kamen Rider Cyclone Trigger after initiating the transformation. The bluenette's non-hosted body was caught by Lisbeth and Ayumu.

Transforming into Kamen Rider brought the attention from the fowl Dopant who replied, "You want to play with me? Now come!", before taking off to the sky and started shooting sharp feathers at the former. Cyclone Trigger dodged roll to the sides, managed not to get hit and Bird flees. Upon seeing this, the green-blue Kamen Rider then takes out the Stag Phone, entered the code to summon RevolGarry.

* * *

Elsewhere, at an empty park…

Junnosuke as Nasca Dopant is running away as far as he could but, he did not expect his father-in-law would send the family's pet cat to assassinate him. Smilodon continued to bash Nasca, who did not fight back as it took all he had just to move. One more hit from the sabre-tooth tiger dopant and Nasca untransformed back into Junnosuke as he fell and rolled on the ground.

Despite not being a threat, Smilodon still attempted to kill the grey-haired man, forcing the latter to continue dodging with his terrible condition. Just when things about to get worse, a familiar female voice cried, "Riki! Stop it!".

This got the attention of Smilodon Dopant and Junnosuke as they stopped what they were doing and turned to the source of the voice. It was Sara Lindsey Elisabeth, the second daughter of Elisabeth family.

Despite being told to stop, the sabre-tooth tiger Dopant still attempts to kill the grey-haired man, to the idol's dismay. "You're not listening to me?!", shouted Sara angrily as she took out her Gaia Driver and Clay Doll Memory, transforming herself into the gault dopant. **"Clay Doll"**

Clay Doll shoots out an energy ball from the left arm cannon, hitting Smilodon, forcing it to retreat from the warning given by one of its family members. After the sabre-tooth tiger dopant left, Junnosuke sighed in relief and sat on the floor out of exhaustion. Clay Doll walked towards the grey-haired man as she untransformed back to Sara, while asking, "Junnosuke Onii-sama? What happened to your usual cool demeanour?"

"Thank you, Sara-chan. I never thought you would come and help me. I was positive you hated me from the first day we became family members and throw the same tantrum when," said Junnosuke with a genuine smile as Sara helped her gets up, replying, "That's right. I really wonder why I felt that way before?".

"Did you get a boyfriend, or did you found someone you like?", guessed Junnosuke. Hearing this makes Sara super flustered and her face become flushed as tomato, which implies it was a yes to the question from her brother-in-law. "Eh?! Where did you get that idea?!", cried Sara.

"You changed a lot since that stalker incident that was resolved a few days ago. I can't imagine this would happen if you really reached to the bottom of that incident alone. This is just my opinion as a man but having someone who you like was a factor to your current behaviour. In your case, you've become a lot kinder," explained Junnosuke.

"Stop it…. It's embarrassing…", pleaded Sara while she is fidgeting with her fingers, which her brother-in-law chuckle amusedly from how adorable she is. Realising that they are going off topic, Sara then asked, "More importantly, what happened?".

Junnosuke's expression became frowned and as he turned around, he simply answered, "It's better off you don't know. Ignorance is a bliss". Sara then muttered, "Could it be… Otou-sama?", and she paused out of hesitation. She wanted to say _betray_ but that word did not come out because she did not want to think her father would do something atrocious to his own family members.

Junnosuke knew well what happened and can guess Sara may have followed him in secret. Otherwise, she would not even come to save him or feel worried for him. Not wanting to ruin the good side of Sara by explaining the truth, he decided to ask something in a roundabout way, "If you were betrayed by someone you really trusted, what would you do then?"

Sara was stunned by that question and as she thought, she spoke, "Right… If it were me… I would ask my heart. What would the real me wanted to do? What is the right thing to do?".

Upon hearing that, Junnosuke muttered, "The real… me…?", and recalled the moments from his childhood. When he was about eight years old, he drew what is the current appearance for Amanohara's mascot, Amano-chan. After that, it was what happened recently, his encounter with Kirito as the latter fought as Fang Joker. _"You said it before… that you love this city. If that's true, then don't let that happen to children again,"_ The black swordsman's words echoed in Junnosuke's mind. Then the grey-haired man smiled and snorted, "I see," before turning to his sister-in-law and said, "Thanks to you, I know what I must do," which she did not replied anything as she was still confused.

Junnosuke then turned and walked away, which got Sara's attention and she asked, "Where are you going?". "I'm going to meet Kamen Rider. There's something I must say to him," answered Junnosuke before he stopped and turned to his sister-in-law.

"Later, Sara-chan," he excused himself with a grin and then turned away and left, but not before saying, "I really liked your radio show," which the mentioned girl smiled genuinely. "Take care, Junnosuke Onii-sama!", cried Sara before Junnosuke lift his hand and waved at her as he leaves.

* * *

Back to where Kamen Rider Double was…

Cyclone Trigger is chasing Bird that soars in the sky with Hard-Boilder. Saori, who was not aware of her dangerous condition continued to shoot feathers at the green-black Kamen Rider, who tried his best to dodge the attacks. It took a while but RevolGarry arrived, shielding Cyclone Trigger from the attacks, before he brought the Hard-Boilder onboard the big vehicle, swapping the back piece of the bike with the hovering extension. The green-blue Kamen Rider rode the Hard-Turbuler and soared to the sky, catching up with the fowl Dopant that flew higher.

Even though, Cyclone Trigger tried to chase Bird from up and down, he uses only weak shots when she assaulted him. Because as of now, Kirito and Hiro had no idea how to save Saori. They cannot do any Maximum Drive or attack her carelessly with full force. If they do so, she will die. Currently, Kirito believed they should try catching her and forced her to be untransformed, then destroyed the Bird Memory.

Hiro agreed as they both decided to try that. However, not using full force rounds from the vehicles weapon system is not as easy as they thought it would be. In addition, Cyclone Trigger ended up missing his targets as they tried to hold back for multiple times. Eventually, one of the weak attacks hit Bird, knock it a little. However, instead of falling, it remained stagnant in the sky. To make it worse, Bird herself has evolved, gaining a metal armour over the birdy head and had long claws. Then she started throwing fire balls with the claws at the green-blue Kamen Rider as the latter was forced into evading them.

The bluenette who was watching through Kirito's sight was surprised to see this happened. "Bird has evolved?! This is bad!", gasped Hiro. "Bad?! You mean, she's going to die?!", guessed Kirito worriedly as he manoeuvred the Hard-Turbular. "Yes! But that line also spelled doom for us if this keeps going!", replied Hiro.

Afterwards, Cyclone Trigger was forced into defensive actions, only evasion of the fireballs or the cancellations against them with the Hard-Turbular's machine gun. Furthermore, Bird was overwhelming against the green-blue Kamen Rider with being on the offensive, launching fireballs continuously, leaving no chance for counterattack. "No good! We can't fight back!", shouted Kirito.

Finally, Bird, launches two waves of multiple fireballs in quick succession, causing Cyclone Trigger unable to counter all of it and got hit with the ones that were missed. Because of that, the green-blue Kamen Rider fell off from his own ride and crashed on the floor at the piers.

 **(Play music: Kaitou Sentai LupinRanger VS Keisatsu Sentai PatRanger OST – ''Daring! Unwavering Fighting Spirit'' in Sound Collection Final Strike Disc 2, Track 17 from 3:45 until the end. Search in Zekozimo blog)**

Cyclone Trigger is still in good condition to fight as the suit protected Kirito from the impulsive force that would otherwise kill him immediately or irreparable injury. Bird then demoted to a position and was readying to attack the green-blue Kamen Rider with barrage of fireballs. Upon realising this, Kirito and Hiro used all their strength to get up and stood before using the Trigger Magnum to dispel any of the incoming fireballs.

"Dang it! This isn't going anywhere! What are we supposed to do?!", growled Kirito worriedly as he continued shooting down the fireballs. A familiar male voice cried out their hope for answers, "The only way out of this is to strike exactly at where Bird Memory was. That's the only way to save her life!".

Cyclone Trigger turned to his left from where the voice originated and saw Nasca Dopant. "What?!", Hiro and Kirito gasped in surprised with seeing Junnosuke there that they lose focus and stopped shooting, leaving the green-blue Kamen Rider exposed to attacks. Bird is still launching her barrage of fireballs at that time. A few of the fireballs hit Cyclone Trigger and he fell from the attack but Nasca quickly come in front and deflect the remaining ones that comes in with his katana.

"I will show you the Memory's location. When that happens, you shoot at it!", Nasca volunteered and ordered. Kirito and Hiro were surprised by what they just heard Junnosuke said. An enemy commander, who was so obsessed with eliminating them, is helping them at this moment.

"Wait, you're lending us your strength?", guessed Hiro. "Hey! What's with the sudden change of wind?", asked Kirito suspiciously. Junnosuke replied, "I told you, I love this city! Why else would I do this if that is a mere lie?", as he fends off the attacks from the fowl dopant.

Nasca then unleashed his wings and superspeed as he flew towards Bird, slashing her with his katana. The fowl dopant tried to counterattack with fireballs, but the cyan dopant quickly grabbed and dragged her to ground level. Cyclone Trigger gets up and walked to see what happened afterwards.

Nasca was trying to restrain Bird and cried, "I will use my driver to make the Bird Memory resonates! If I do that…". Saori, however resisted and attacked Nasca with the claws. The cyan dopant then grabbed the fowl dopant's right arm and restrained it. "Let me go!", cried Saori as she bashed at Nasca with her free arm, which the latter grabbed onto to restrain her further and ordered, "Stay still!".

The cyan dopant then channels powers from his Gaia Driver into the fowl Dopant, causing a strange phenomenon to occur on the latter. At the abdominal section of Bird, it started to glow brightly, displaying the Gaia Memory sitting there and was visible even for naked eyes.

"Oh! I can see it!", gasped Kirito and Junnosuke shouted, "Kamen Rider! This is the memory's location! Fire!", implying that Nasca could not hold longer if Kamen Rider Double dawdled. "All right! Let's finish this in one shot!", declared Hiro as he took out the memory gadget, Bat Shot.

 **"Bat"** , Cyclone Trigger combined the bat-like camera gadget with the back of Trigger Magnum before raising the hinge of Bat Shot's neck upward. **"Trigger. Maximum Drive"** , the green-blue Kamen Rider insert the Trigger Memory into the gun and lift the front barrel to Maximum Mode. A small virtual screen appeared on the gun, acting like a scope and locked onto the Bird Memory as the target. "Trigger Bat Shooting", Kirito and Hiro muttered as Cyclone Trigger pulled the trigger, unleashing a straight, windy and swift shot at Bird's abdominal section when the cursor stay locked to the target.

Saori screamed in pain as Bird exploded along with Nasca, creating a spark of big flames. It took a few seconds for the smokes and flames to vanish, revealing that Nasca was still intact and he was holding an unconscious Saori in his arms. The Bird Memory that was inside Takaharu's daughter came out and shattered into pieces.

"Nice marksmanship," complimented Nasca for the good skill in shooting. Kirito sighed in relief and muttered, "That was so reckless," before Cyclone Trigger put away his weapon and approached Nasca.

The cyan dopant walked forward as well, handing over Saori to the green-blue Kamen Rider. Cyclone Trigger then crouch as he gently puts the long-haired girl's leg on the floor. "Saori-chan! Saori-chan!", Kirito called out as he slightly shook her body gently. It was slow but Saori's eyebrows twitched a bit and she slowly opened her eyes and saw Cyclone Trigger before herself. "Kirito-san…?", she muttered, somehow a bit confused. "Are you okay?", asked Kirito worriedly and Saori replied, "Yes…".

Kirito as well as Hiro sighed in relief. Saori was alive and it does not seem her life is in grave danger anymore. Junnosuke was glad that it all worked well too. Cyclone Trigger then turned to Nasca, who very much contributed to this since Double could not do it if he had not help them. "As much as I do not like you before, I couldn't help but see you in a new light. Thank you," Kirito thanked Junnosuke for his assistance. "Me too. If it were not for you, this girl's life would have been forfeited. You have our gratitude. Thank you very much," added Hiro.

Junnosuke snorted as he turned around, "To think you two would be thanking and complimenting me, that was unexpected–", and collapsed onto the ground and untransformed from Nasca.

The others were surprised, with Cyclone Trigger went to see the grey-haired man and hold the latter in his arms. "Hey, are you okay?!", asked Kirito. "Their name is Geo, Gaia Engineering Oracle…", muttered Junnosuke.

"Huh?", replied Hiro and Kirito in confusion before the grey-haired man continued, "That is the enemy, the organisation that you've been fighting against, the group who distributed Gaia Memories to the people of this city".

"What?!", gasped Hiro before Junnosuke gets up from the clutch of Cyclone Trigger and continued, "To be honest, I never thought I joined some organisation that would not give a second thought to use people, including children as sacrificial pawns to achieve the goals. Be careful, they carry a darkness that is beyond your imagination."

The grey-haired man walked away and suddenly stopped as Cyclone Trigger stood. Junnosuke seems to be looking at something on his pants. He took it off and lobbed it towards Cyclone Trigger, who caught it with his left hand. Cyclone Trigger then looked at what he got and was surprised. It was the limited-edition key holder, Amano-chan, the mascot of Amanohara City.  
Kirito then remembered that when he met Junnosuke at Barber Ventus, the latter promised he would give this to him. Though, the black swordsman did not really think too much about it since he was an enemy and could not trust him. Cyclone Trigger then looked at Junnosuke, who said just one line to the former, "Please take care of this city," before turning and walked away.

Cyclone Trigger looked back at the key holder that was given, with Hiro asking his partner, "Isn't this keyholder his? Why would he give him to you?". "It was on the spur of the moment but another customer at Barber Ventus that was next to me promised to give me this. Although I didn't know it was him and kept his promise for it," explained Kirito before he removed the Gaia Memories and untransformed.

The black swordsman then walked a few steps and called out to the grey-haired man, "Junnosuke!", and the latter just responded with a hand wave as he left. Kirito seems rather perplexed as to why Junnosuke gave him this and he could not help but felt this would be a keepsake.

* * *

Later, at the helipad of Dial Corporation…

It was sunset and Junnosuke is waiting for someone currently. Someone then arrived from the door leading to this current location and walked in. It was his wife, Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth. "Junnosuke-san, what is it that you called me all the way out here?", asked Hermione as she approaches her husband.

"Hermione... Will you leave the Elisabeth household with me?", requested Junnosuke. His wife was in silenced, seemingly in hesitation from hearing a sudden request as absurd as that. Junnosuke then approached, hold onto her shoulders and make her face him, while pleading, "Please do it… if you love me…".

Hermione then smiled and replied, "I understand…", as she gently pushes his hands away before walking pass him. "That I no longer needed you," she declared before she took out her Gaia Driver and Taboo Memory. **"Taboo"**

Junnosuke was greatly shocked by what he just heard and saw before he muttered his wife's name in disbelief, "Hermione…". However, before he could even say anything else or act, Hermione transformed into Taboo Dopant, summoned a red energy ball and blasted with full force at Junnosuke in the flesh, sending him flying and crashed against the railing nearby the stairs leading to the helipad.

The grey-haired man was critically injured from this, with his clothes being tattered and began to lose his consciousness. Taboo untransformed into Hermione, who approaches her almost dead husband and took something from his possession. "I'm taking this back," the maroon-haired woman said as what she retrieved was the Nasca Memory before she walked past him to the stairs while saying, "For the Geo… No… My grand plan. Farewell, dear", and bids farewell to her husband in a cold-hearted tone. Afterwards, she then left him to die.

As for Junnosuke, whose life is fading in every second, he could not believe what happened, yet it did. His own wife used him as nothing more than just a sacrificial pawn. He did not see that coming at all. Why? He wanted to know but had no way of doing that anymore. As his soul began to fade, he could feel the wind blustering on his skin. For some reason, he felt comfortable and was convinced that everything would be all right, which he believes the wind of this city loved him and wanted him not to worry about the future.

"Amanohara… It really… has a nice wind blowing through it. I made the right decision to leave my keyholder in his hands. Please… save this city… Kirito…", said Junnosuke as he closes his eye and lose his consciousness before his flesh began disintegrating into mere dust that spreads through the air, leaving only his tattered clothing. His bloodied tainted scarf was blustered away along with the wind.

* * *

The next day at Asaka Detective Agency….

It was only Hiro and Kirito present there as the former helped to write the report for the recent case. The case involving searching for the missing daughter has ended, with Saori returned home and fulfil the request from the barber, Kojima Takaharu. However, Kirito was shocked when he read one of the contents of today's newspaper. _'Junnosuke Ron Elisabeth had passed away in an accident. It was so sudden',_ was on the frontpage.

At that time, Kirito was at the small round table while Hiro is doing the report. "I never expected that Junnosuke suddenly passed away…", muttered Kirito as he stared at the keyholder he got from Junnosuke, which had indeed becoming a heart-rending keepsake from him.

"My thoughts exactly. To be honest, he is the first new commander I had encountered when you all arrived here. I thought he was a scum like that lady commander that I fought before but I was wrong. Now that we know he was not as evil as we thought, it is depressing that he died so suddenly. We lost our one clue to figure out about the organisation called Geo just when I thought we could recruit him to become an ally for us," explained Hiro.

"Gaia Engineering Oracle, abbreviated Geo," muttered Kirito. "When I saw Junnosuke suddenly not feeling well so severely yesterday, I run up a lookup on the Gaia Memory he used. Nasca Memory was a double-edged sword and it will still endanger its user's life despite using a driver. I believe Junnosuke was also sacrificial pawn to this organisation," added Hiro before he looked at the newspaper, which had a photo of his wife named Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth. Then the bluenette pondered, _"Still, it doesn't add up. If he can walk and stand normally, he can still live a bit longer than this if he discarded or did not use the Nasca Memory after saving Saori-chan. But, this woman, Hermione Jeanne Elisabeth, Junnosuke's wife and Sara-san's sister, is that ruthless commander I encountered in Begins Night incident. If she kills him to use Nasca Memory for her own ambitions or under Geo's order, it seems logical. But… why is it that two members of Elisabeth household were commanders for this organisation? Come to think of it, during the Sweets Dopant incident, these two were in the backyard of Elisabeth Mansion. Could it be at that time, we are inside Geo's territory, our enemy's main base? That might explain why Sara-san knew about Gaia Memory and it's highly probably she a commander too. Otherwise, that should Should I tell Kirito and the others about this?... No. I cannot tell them yet. I don't want to cause unnecessary panic and rushed things over. We're fighting an organisation that has major influence on the government. If we're to strike blindly now, we'll die, and everything will be for naught. I need to plan of time, consider things carefully. First, I need to learn as much as possible about our enemy. Right now, there's no solid proof that can be used against them. If Sara-san is indeed our enemy as a status, not by her own decision, I prefer avoiding a fight against her if possible. But the problem would be the other commanders, including her sister, Hermione. She's no pushover when trying to capture me last time and I cannot avoid fighting if it was her. Next, that tiger like dopant. Whoever it was, he or she is too strong. Lastly… is that creepy looking Dopant with that weird pool of murder death…? Wait a second, what? I feel like I know who this fearsome commander is but who is it? I can't remember his name… Just who was it?"._

As the bluenette tried to recall who the user of Terror Dopant is, he was called out by the black swordsman, "Hiro. Hiro!". Hiro was surprised that he loses focus immediately regarding what he thought of and turned to where Kirito was, in front of the work desk and seem disappointed. "What?", the bluenette asked, which the black swordsman sighed and replied, "Are you daydreaming? I was talking to you".

"Sorry. What is it that you are talking about?", apologised Hiro as he asked for his partner to repeat what he said earlier when the former was not paying attention. "This incident that happened this time also proved that Gaia Memories are really terrifying. I don't really think I can continue doing this…", said Kirito, which surprises the bluenette as he asked, "You… Are you going to quit?".

"I've thought of that every day but… I do not have any choice. If I am going to return home with Asuna and the others, I must do this, for their sake and for myself too. I just wanted to say that it's quite a heavy burden and it is more than what I can handle," explained Kirito.

There was a short silence, making the bluenette feel like the black swordsman was confused. Comfort does not seem to be the best option for this kind of situation but rather questioning why and how you acted like yourself.

"Hey, partner. I never thought of it before but now I wanted to ask an open-ended question to you," asked Hiro. "About what?", replied Kirito. "Do you really regret getting yourself involved into MMORPGs, especially Sword Art Online? Were the passions and hopes you had to fight for your freedom back in those days were pure lies? If you know early hand it was not something worth sacrificing your life for, would you still do it?", asked Hiro.

The black swordsman was surprised about this question and it did leave him to ponder about it for at least a minute, wondering how he would explain it to the bluenette.

After a bit, Kirito gave his answers and explained, "No. Not one bit if I were to say it truthfully. Indeed, it's scary if you sign up for a game that you just wanted to enjoy it for fun that used this as a façade for an extremely realistic survival that puts your own life on the line. Surely, no one wants that. Still, I experience a lot of moments in SAO, both happy and sad moments. In the end, whether a game is for the good or bad depends on the perspective of its users. To me, I never once regret for getting involved in this kind of game before SAO. After all, I loved MMORPGs. It's what give me hope to continue living. Plus, I wouldn't have met Asuna and the others if I ran away from SAO".

Upon hearing that, Hiro could not help but decide to express something as well and said, "I kind of have similar feeling, towards Gaia Memories". Kirito was surprised to hear this and asked, "You felt the same? How? In what angle are you referring to?"

"Back during those hardships, I could only think like you do now, those little things are monsters that took the lives of many people. But when fighting, I really wonder why this exist and give a serious thought about it, how Gaia Memories surely had its own merits. And I guess there are some benefits. For example, you can dive deep sea with extremely high pressure and stay there for 24 hours without needing oxygen tanks. Gathering samples would be easier. If a shark or a whale try to prey on you, you can simply defend yourself. Moreover, it could even help us collect metals in volcanoes without needing to worry about the heat and its high temperature. Simply saying, Gaia Memories helps to open new possibilities in new line of work, allowing us humans to work in extreme environment. Of course, there is us as well, for live saving purpose and neutralising criminals who abused Gaia Memories. So, the bottom line, technology and science exist to give prosperity to the world. Gaia Memories is also one of them. But… I guess it is a matter of whether we lose sight of what is right and wrong, when discovering new technology. From what I can see based on the current situation, the day for the whole humanity to accept Gaia Memories as part of them isn't going to come anytime soon. Even though this technology has appeared for over a decade, the world is not aware of its existence and not being used for the goods of all living beings. I don't know what Geo is thinking, distributing something lethal to innocent people, turning them into monster but one thing I know, we must stop this organisation as soon as possible before any more casualties happened. If the two of us worked together, we'll eventually stopped them".

"I can comprehend what you try to convey about Gaia Memories, but your last line is not convincing to me. To be frank, I feel like what's going to happen soon might be too much for both of us to handle. My priority would be protecting Asuna and the others. It goes without saying that yours would be your family. However, our enemies are getting stronger as we speak, and I fear I cannot protect Asuna and the others if they are in danger at the same time," argued Kirito.

"I see… I get the hint. Even so, do remember that we are not getting weak ourselves day by day. As for the second point regarding your friends, if the ones to be protected are too many, then they must learn to protect themselves. That way, there is less people to protect and I got that part prepared", concluded Hiro before Kirito surprisingly replied, "Really?!"

"Yes. If the only one who got dragged here was only you in the first place, there should not be any trouble for me to handle. But there are 7 humans plus two Artificial Intelligence singularities that had arrived here, I still got 8 more people to think how I can make them protect themselves since you can protect yourself. Initially, I know how to help Yui and Strea and be part of the combat if needed but not Asuna-san and the others. Yui and Strea just need combat vessels to fill in and I know where to obtain them, but the rest needs protective suits to defend themselves and it was a tough one to get. If a mechanical body is broken, I can still fix or get new one but injuries on human bodies caused by Gaia Memories is not easy to heal with current medical treatment. In the worst-case scenario, you just must make a backup of Yui and Strea beforehand but there's no retrieving Asuna and the others if their lives were lost," explained Hiro.

"Then, it's impossible, you say?", asked Kirito and the bluenette replied, "Hey! I only said tough, not impossible. In any case, I found two people who can collaborate with us regarding this matter. First, it is my Okaa-san, Oozora Haruka".

"Your mother?!", gasped Kirito surprised, not by the name but rather the fact the one of the people who can help his friends was the bluenette's mother, "Unbelievable as it is, my Okaa-san is a scientist and her specialised field is with Computer and Artificial Intelligence. A lot of things happen between me and her back a few years back but do not try to investigate or asked me about that, it is not all good memories. Although she did quit from that field, she is back into it in the past two years ago. For the purpose of giving them a body, I would like you to hand over Yui and Strea to her so that she can adjust things up for them. With the help of the second person, Yui and Strea can be of assistance in combat. So, is it okay for you?", explained Hiro before he requested the black swordsman the two AIs he had. Kirito replied, "Well, I don't mind that. But what about the second person?"

"Oh, the second person is Okaa-san's co-worker in the same company and that British man, Severus Fox, is working on a new generation suits that can protect from extreme environment and compressible to store itself within the size of a wristwatch. On top of that, it is lightweight, ergonomic and can change its outer appearance according to the user's imagination if they preferred something look different than default form. Although, stat wise, it's just the same as default, only appearance that change. Finally, it does provide a customisable weapon according to what style the user preferred. And the bottom line, its offensive power could even come on terms with us Kamen Rider and it even has the capability to overload the circuits of Gaia Memories. Hence, I met him in person and asked if we can, borrow them, about eight of them," elucidated Hiro. "Eight?! One for Asuna, Sugu, Recon, Silica, Sinon, and Lis. Wait, that's two extra you know?", echoed Kirito before he pointed out the excessive quantity.

"I know. But the thing is, I cannot really help but feel like there is going to be extra members coming in soon. That is what my instinct suggested but just so you know, I can't fix those suits so if any critical component is broken, I need to hand him that and it would take a week at least, maybe over a month for fixing", justified Hiro and Kirito asked, "So, what conditions did that person set up when you try to make a deal with him?"

"I first wanted to say base-jumping and spelunking but then again it does not fit as to why I wanted to use weapons for offensive. So, I didn't have the heart to lie completely and I bluntly said, it's for fighting monsters as Amanohara City was a place unofficially infamous for creating monsters out of humans. I'm creating a small squad of volunteers to neutralise the criminals and put a stop to those crimes, something that government authorities like police of this city could not handle or they were under influence of someone evil that prevents them from doing the right thing. Luckily, that man seems to comprehend, and he said it is my right to keep the truth but not to take him for a fool. With that, he agreed. That settles the part for protective gears," explained Hiro.

Kirito seemed glad to hear this and replied, "That's great". Hiro then replied, "Unfortunately, there is a few bad news, three to be specific. First, fighting in the sky and deep underwater are out of the question. Neither the suits nor vessels can withstand that extremely dangerous situations like Dopant could. While the suits and vessels can be replaced, there is no replacing lives that has been lost. Second, there is no vehicle of any sort to help your friends soar and dive. I did consider about getting such things, but I fear that would be too much to ask. In the first place, vehicles aren't cheap, especially the ones that can fly. Even I cannot afford the suits and vessels that your friends needed to fight alongside us without telling the reasons. It's "give and take" principle after all. Plus, I rather not the staffs of that company get involved unnecessarily with us so only Okaa-san and Severus-san knew what we are doing".

The black swordsman nodded understandably and said, "Well, that is understandable. And I think what you proposed is far better than what I anticipated. Just being able to battle on land alone is of great advantage. If the worst were to come, we can take care of that and turned the situation to our favour. And the third one?"

"Well, it's about the protective suits for Asuna-san and the others. Those suits will be helpful in the upcoming future but unfortunately it puts unnecessary strains on the bodies when fighting unless they trained like athletes and armies. This is because non-athletic recovers slower than athletes and armies that are trained to the limit. Therefore, starting tomorrow morning, we are doing workout to train six days a week. Of course, we are both in as well", explained Hiro and Kirito seems unpleased, and asked, "Hey, hey, you got to drag me along too?"

"It's necessary. If anyone even abandon their training for a week even after reducing their mass of body fat to an ideal state, the stamina obtained will just dissipate just like that. Just to remind you again, I have not once abandoned workout or the proper diet for even a week when I am fighting. Let's go, buddy. Today's job for the girls is to get their two pair of sports attires. And no one eats sweets as they please," explained Hiro.

"You got to be kidding me?", muttered Kirito in disbelief. "It's important to make a habit out of the good ones and cease the bad ones. It is for long term health style. So, let us go!", declared Hiro as he and his partner, Kirito left the agency.

Unbeknownst to them, a blue beetle gadget was observing them in secret from the wall of the kitchen. When Hiro and Kirito left, it also exits through the opened window.

* * *

Elsewhere, at Amanohara Police Department…

There was a hunk wearing a black t-shirt inside a red jacket with red pants and black boots. He comes there with a red-white superbike that was parked near him. He had brown hair and hazel eyes. The blue beetle gadget, known as Beetle Phone, in its Live Mode arrived and revert to phone mode as it landed on this hunk man. Simultaneously, he felt a wind that blustered right to his face. Instead of relief, this man showed condemnation to this wind. "What an unpleasant wind. That's why I hate this city," he said as he was about to go into the police department. Before he even starts walking out, he took out a red purified Gaia Memory with the initial A, shaped as a quarter of speedometer, representing Accel. He throws the Memory upward with low force and catch it before pressing its activation button. **"Accel"**

 **Hello everyone. Geez, I was not even realising it was this long that I did not post a new chapter. I was so focused on getting my fat mass burned into carbon dioxide and water. In other words, losing fat mass and get into good body shape. Forgive me if you feel like some part of this is not logical to you but I tried my best to connect with common sense. Even so, I am assuming that the technology in the story is very advanced to make what is realistically possible in real life.**

 **Also, from this point onward, maybe I will do it shorter than this, with part 1, 2 and 3, but often because I don't like it that I'm losing my passion, just because of something else distract me. By the way, the music I chose was the one I like, simple as that. Since people keep arguing about how Recon is not fitting to be Kamen Rider and believed Klein and Agil are better candidates, well then, I decide it better off be another original character than existing known character. The end for that issue.**

 **Right now, with the COVID 19 pandemic that is all over the world, everyone, and exactly anyone, regardless of their excellent health status can get infected even with the smallest of droplet of this virus that enters your body.**

 **Everyone who see this, please stay safe at home, avoid going out unnecessarily, always take care of your hygiene and avoid wearing gloves. It is better to prevent that to cure since it is up to your body to fight back this virus that took the lives of over thousands of people.**


	13. Accel Debut - Part 1

**17th May 2026, Sunday**

At Oguma mountain, a pair of men is exploring the area, looking for something. The first one is a Japanese man in his 20s, with has brownish hair and eyes. He also had a hooked nose, a slight beard on his cheeks and chin. He wore a red bandanna over his forehead, some plain red clothing and black pants along with a pair of red sneakers. This man is Tsuboi Ryoutarou AKA Klein.

The other one is of African heritage. He is a massive and bulky bald man with a brown goatee and brown eyes. He also has two silver earrings on his left ear. He wore a dark green shirt and black pants along with a pair of black-green sneakers. This person is Andrew Gilbert Mills AKA Agil.

These two are by far the only male friends that Kirito get along with from SAO era. It has been two weeks since the event that Kirito and the others had participated but unfortunately, none of them return home in the same day. The two of them are looking for their friends and hoped they were safe. While looking around for about two hours, Agil spoke, "Hey, Klein. Let's just stop here". "Kirito and the others had vanished. Don't you think it's weird? Aren't you worried, Agil?!", argued Klein.

Agil replied, "Well, anybody would. But we should leave this to the police?", and Klein immediately retorted, "And just labelled them into the missing list even after salvaging the whole area? There's no way I can accept that!"

Agil sighed from this as he was feeling tired and they did not find anything after the long walk. He then replied, "Still, we've been at this for two hours straight and looked almost everywhere. I don't think they're here anymore".

Upon hearing this, Klein berated, "Don't give up so easily," before asking the axe fighter merchant, "More importantly, don't you have any info from the locals around here about what happened?".

"There is a rumour about what the people been talking about the last fortnight, but no one had solid evidence to prove it as true or false," answered Agil. "No matter. Just tell me," said Klein.

"According to what I heard, there was a strange phenomenon that occurred on the day after the event over here ended. Some people saw some strange green guy going into a wormhole in the sky and a group of 7 people with 5 being girls got sucked into it. Afterwards, everything vanished in a blink of an eye," explained Agil.

Klein was surprised and excitedly replied, "That must be it! All we had to do is find that wormhole and jump into that. That way we can see Kirito and the others". Agil, with unamused expression snarked, "Such fictitious phenomenon couldn't possibly happen out of the blue–", before he paused as the sky suddenly turned gloomy, which got his and Klein's attention.

Both men looked above them and saw the black clouds are gathering in about two kilometres radius and they were in the middle of it. Curious if it is going to rain heavily, Klein asked, "Hey, isn't it going to rain?", and Agil, who was baffled, answered, "No. I'm sure I heard the weather reporter said the weather is bright for the whole day".

Klein then looked at the muscle man and said, "This is no good. We can't look for Kirito and the others like that". Agil on the other hand was worried about catching a cold but concurred as he looked at the samurai geek, "I won't deny that but I rather not catching a cold in the middle of searching. We should find a shelter first". "My thoughts exactly," agreed Klein to the suggestion.

However, before they could leave, the clouds suddenly acted strange, producing loud thunders, which surprises the two men as they looked up. The thunderclaps are indeed acting strange. There was no long interval between each clap, and it is less than 1 second. The thunder continued clapping and something circular was formed in the centre of the cloud. It keeps on enlarging every second and before the two men realised it, it formed a hole that is pitch-black, accompanied with a storm and it began sucking anything within its range.

Klein and Agil were surprised to see what just happened, with the latter asking in disbelief, "What is that?!". Unbelievable as it is, Agil gasped, "No way! It's a wormhole!". Before they could even act, the storm created from the wormhole pulled the duo with astounding force, taking them to the sky as they screamed for their lives. Klein and Agil were sucked into the black portal, sending them off to somewhere.

* * *

 **26th September 2060, Sunday**

At a training field...

Ayumu, Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Leafa, Sinon and Kirito are doing workout together with Hiro and Sara. The maroon-haired girl was invited by the bluenette when the former asked if he wants to join her for training alongside his friends, which she agreed since the more the merrier.

Though when she arrived, she was surprised, most of them are girls, which the bluenette, convincingly lied that apart from Ayumu, who is his sister, they are his friends from another region of the country and they currently lived in Amanohara because their parents worked here in various fields.

As troublesome as it is, Kirito and the others played along with the lie since they have responsibilities to avoid getting into unnecessary troubles with people who would take advantage of their trouble for their own desire, since most members of the group are girls.

Currently they were all doing the high intensity interval training, which as the name suggest, every exercise is done as fast as possible in every 20-30 seconds with only 10 seconds of rest in between.

Since everyone already had breakfast two hours early hand, this type of workout would not harm them seriously as opposed to not having meal. Plus, they already warm up their body properly.

The workout period is slightly over 4 minutes with 8 exercises. First is squat, where everyone stands with their feet at shoulder length apart, arms stretched forward and lower their bodies until their thighs are about parallel to the floor while keeping their upper bodies straight.

The second one is push up, which everyone are in the straight-arm plank position before bending their arms so their chests almost but not touching the ground.

Ayumu, Kirito, Silica, Lisbeth and Sinon are not used with the straight-arm plank position for this workout so Hiro, who experience this difficulty before, suggested they put their knees on the floor with their ankles crossed in the air and it helps them to do push up.

The third one is mountain climber, which starts as the same position as traditional push up but puts one foot forward at a time and bend the knees towards the chest.

The fourth one is front lunges where everyone stands straight, take a step forward, bend their knee forward and lower their body until the thigh are parallel to the floor then repeat for each side.

The fifth one is leg raise, which they each lie down on a mat, then raised their legs up until 90 degrees to the ground and lower them down slowly before repeating. This one is tough for most of them, so Hiro advised them to bend their knees first before straightening their legs up and repeat.

The sixth exercise is high knees, which they raised each knee as high and as quick as possible while running.

The seventh and eighth exercise are fire hydrants, which everyone start on all fours with knees under the butt and hands under the shoulders, then lift their legs to the side at a 90-degree angle. The seventh is for the left and the eighth is for the right. They did 4 sets of this workout with only about 15 to 20 seconds in between each set.

After about 30 minutes, they managed to complete the routine for today. Most of them could hardly catch a breath from the rather intense workout. The only exception was Leafa, Hiro and Sara. About 5 to 10 minutes later in getting the heartbeat slower by resting and hydrated, all of them performed the cooldown stretching.

After the cooldown just finished, Hiro applauded, "Nice work, everyone. You all did well. Keep it up", which Sara also followed to do this. Everyone else lied down, somehow still feeling a little tired. Sara then approached the bluenette and said, "Hey, Hiro. I'll be taking my leave now. I got work in the afternoon".

"Sure. Thank you for coming here and accompany us despite what you've been through. I mean… with what happened to your brother-in-law, I didn't want to bother you unnecessarily," thanked Hiro as he expressed his worry for the maroon-haired girl.

Sara was not bothered with what the bluenette said and replied, "No, no. It's true that losing the people important to you is heart wrenching, regardless whether they are old or young, for whatever reasons. To be honest, I was being mean to my brother-in-law and everyone in the family, pulling off tantrums like a brat. But I didn't feel any regret for being able to get along with Junnosuke Onii-sama, even if it was for a few minutes. Moreover, I don't think he wanted to see me acting all pathetic so all I can do is move on and always remember in my heart".

"That's right… anyway take care," agreed Hiro with a few nods as he wished the best for Sara, who then replied, "Thank you. Then, see you next time," before she left.

The bluenette watched the maroon-haired girl leave all the way until he could not see her from his current view and position. Of course, this was observed by Kirito and the others. Seeing how the bluenette could not take his eyes off the idol, this prompts Lisbeth to comment with sarcasm, "Oh, Sara-san, please don't go! I wanted you to stay here a while longer! I want you to depend on me!". The way she does is was like an opera actor, who fully showed their emotion as if the whole act was an exaggerated lie.

Hiro does not like this and yet he does not understand what she is trying to imply upon hearing this. "Hey, Lis-san. What kind of sarcasm are you trying to pull off here?", the bluenette retorted and the blacksmith girl angrily replied, "That's my line! Are you trying to show off to us that you have a girlfriend now?!".

Hiro was confused as to how this misunderstanding came up with, leading to this response from him, "Huh?! Who give you that idea?!". "It's Ayumu. 'Onii-chan got a girlfriend because he couldn't eat and sleep well,' is what she said," answered Lisbeth.

The bluenette then turned his eyes at his little sister with a glare and scolded, "Ayumu… you scallywag! Don't go around spreading false rumours! Sara-san and I aren't dating!", which scares her a bit before he added, "Well… at the very least, not yet," with a slightly flushed face.

Silica who noticed this, commented, "Hiro-san, your face is red," and Hiro simply faked it out by saying, "My body temperature is just hot from all the exercising". "Lies. You're rather passionate in today's workout compared to the last week," spat Leafa.

This makes the bluenette seems more annoyed by the second, leading him to angrily pouted, "Fine. I'll admit I do have feelings for her and simultaneously a coward who don't have the courage to ask out a girl!", before crossing his arms and asked in sarcasm, "Happy now?", as he glared to the girls who teased him.

This caused the girls to feel uneasy as they just wanted to tease him a bit, nothing serious, leading Ayumu to question this, "Why are you so worked out about this, Onii-chan?", and Hiro retorted, "Because Sara-san is like a beautiful flower in a desert with bugs competing with each other to have it for themselves".

Kirito and the others were surprised with the poem that Hiro just mentioned, or rather they had no clue what that supposed to represent even with the context. "What kind of poem is that?", asked Asuna, confused as to what is the bluenette is trying to imply.

"Forget the poor poem I said. The bottom line is every and I mean almost every man in this city, pretty much are head over heels for her. Idol as a career comes with the risks of having and dealing with stalkers. I wouldn't be surprise if she acted cold to me if I suddenly try to flirt her," explained Hiro.

The bluenette is not being honest with everyone and himself because he just had the suspicions that Sara is an enemy commander. As half-boiled or naïve as he may be, he did not want to think she is an enemy to him. Even if the suspicions were proven true, he did not want to settle everything with force and keep things peace and professional. _"From now on, I should refrain from speaking more than I should,"_ thought Hiro.

"Even so, that girl is pretty mean towards me and everyone else but the only one she treated all nice and good was you," added Kirito, which his partner densely replied, "Really? I didn't notice at all?". "Partner… you… purposely acted like that," growled Kirito when he realised the bluenette deliberately acted dumb.

"Enough of that. Don't bother Hiro more than necessary," ordered Sinon, who is getting annoyed with the bluenette's boyfriend-girlfriend issue that is being doubted by everyone. "I'm glad you comprehend me, Sinon-san," said Hiro with gratitude before Silica asked, "More importantly, I've got a question, Hiro-san. Just how much longer should we be training to use that suit? When can we use them?".

The bluenette then elucidate, "Based on Severus-san current progress, he should be able to complete it in another two weeks. Of course, with the information I have on most of the Dopants and Double's Gaia Memories', I'm helping him from remotely by providing the essential information that would fit the specifications that you all would need to fight with Dopants on equal level. Even so, we're trying our best to hasten its completion for use as soon as possible. Until then, training sessions will still go on".

Upon hearing that, Lisbeth is not happy and complained, "For real? I'm tired. We've been at this for 14 days". "Correction it is 12, 1 day at each week is a rest day," corrected Hiro and Sinon asked, "Even so, will this bring us any benefits with using the suits whatever you call it?".

"Severus-san name it the Major Disaster Rescue Suit abbreviated, MDRS. As the name implies, it was meant to be used by the police and firefighters to neutralise dangerous criminals and to destroy obstacles that hindered rescue route impossible. Furthermore, it provides the resistance to withstand up to 800-degree Celsius and with the technology used by fortified cardboard, it can absorb 85% of any impact," explained Hiro.

"Hold on a second. Wouldn't that mean it is safe to use as it is?", asked Asuna. "Indeed, but to trigger a Memory Break on Dopants, in other words, the finisher, would render the safety functions null when using it. To make it simple in your gaming terms, the damage that you received would be reroute to the weapon you used, which has the micro particle accelerator equipped to amplify the attack output and produce light effects that can done considerable damage, which can even done at. Indeed, something comparable to Sword Skills".

Kirito and the others were surprised with how Hiro explained the mechanism with the terminology to fit in with what these MMORPG Players called their super attacks, sword skills. In a way, whatever these suits are, it feels like what is only possible in the virtual world before is becoming possible in real world. "Sword skills?! Really?!", echoed Asuna as she asked for clarity.

"Yes. As long as you remember how the skills was supposedly be unleashed and how many hits you can land, depends solely on the limit of the individual, in other words, your own limit. Unlike long range finishers like gunshots and shockwave attacks, which can only fire one at a time, a finisher using close range weapons that inflict the damage directly on target can last about 15 seconds so keep that in mind if you intend to use continuous attacks. Also, by chance, through any means, that the finisher missed, you cannot use them again for 30 seconds since the safety function is rebooting. Furthermore, if it is just rebooting, it may not be able to absorb 50% of the shock from any attack and you'll outright take the full output from the damage you receive, for at least in the first 15 seconds," Hiro clarified further, which makes the others worry and terrified to hear this.

"Hey, hey. For real? We're still going take pain?", asked Lisbeth despondently. "W's armour system… or rather nothing armoury in this world are immortal. Damage is a damage and we will take it in fight yet the only thing possible to do is to mitigate. The games that you played had the pain absorber system to almost the max that you could not even feel the pain of a needle and the damages you received were measured with the difference in value of initial and current hit point. However, in a fight against Dopant, if you suffered a critical injury caused by Gaia Memory, normal medical treatment cannot help you recover, and it all depends on your body's ability to heal itself. That is why I want you all to train because a trained body like athletes and armies had high rate of recovery for purpose like this. Untrained body could take at least a month, but a trained body can speed that up exponentially, maybe to just a few days. Of course, I'm just as afraid as you all are when it comes to taking pain because we fear it, but it is also a prove that we are alive. Plus, compared to the first day, right now, everyone got the stamina now," explained Hiro before he asked, "You don't really feel as exhausting as the first day, right?".

Everyone, particularly Sinon, Silica, Lisbeth and Ayumu, looked at each other and then recalled two Thursdays ago. During that time, Hiro suddenly imposed them into doing training, but he was not so strict as to force them do what is not capable for them. True, they felt so exhausted that they just wanted to sleep after the first day. Today, however, even though they still do the same intense training, they did not feel as tired as before.

"When you say that, it does make sense. I thought for sure I'm going to collapse after the second set of that High Intensity Interval Training," stated Silica. Sinon however, still have doubt and pointed out, "But, it does not change the fact we're in danger from that side effect".

"True. But who said you need to stay still and get clobbered if an attack miss?", questioned Hiro, which left everyone stunned for a while. "What are you trying to imply?", asked Leafa a few seconds later. The black swordsman, after giving serious thought to it, decides to voice his opinion, "I got it. That means Asuna and the others don't have to wait for a few seconds to move your body after putting a finisher, right?".

The bluenette heard about what his partner said and nodded. However, everyone else could not comprehend this, prompting Asuna to ask, "What does that mean, Kirito-kun?".

"Using Sword Skills in SAO and new ALO imposed movement delay on the avatars for a few seconds and leave us open for attacks. But, for this case, we don't have that troublesome effect. If the sword skills failed to land on our enemies, we just have to keep moving around and evade until we can use sword skills again. Plus, you don't have to inflict sword skills at the same time. That way, we can look after each other's back", elucidated Kirito before he turned to his partner and asked, "The two of us will be helping them too, right, partner?".

Hiro nodded in agreement and said, "Exactly. Thanks for the explanation. I am getting thirsty with all the explanation". He then continued, "Anyway, watch your diet and eat in the right portion so that you don't feel too hungry or sleepy in two hours after meal. This should be a habit that we kept for the rest of our lives. Once you all started using the MDRS, you all can stick with doing 3 to 4 days of training per week, each on alternate day. For the time being–".

The bluenette was interrupted when Silica suddenly cried, "Everyone, look that!", which got everyone's attention as she pointed towards something in the sky. The rest followed her gaze and saw something worrying in the sky.

Today is a sunny day but there are some irregularities on the atmosphere, which is a stormy black cloud. The location this happened is about two kilometres away from the group's current location and 20 metres above ground. With every clap of thunder, it began to form a wormhole. Everyone else was wondering what is going, prompting Leafa to muttered, "What is that?", as Ayumu takes out a binocular from her bag and use it to zoom in.

From her view through the binocular, there is a pair of men just came out before the wormhole vanishes, which surprises Ayumu as she panicky gasped, "There's people falling out from there!". "What?!" gasped Kirito and the others who were surprised to hear that. People falling from the sky. Now that is no good no matter how you look at it because even 10 metres of height can kill humans. They must be saved before the bad thing occurred. Hiro called out to his partner, "Kirito!", who then nodded and replied, "Yeah!", before the latter began to run towards the location where the wormhole just appeared and equipped the Double Driver.

The belt also appeared on the bluenette's waist as he took out the Luna Memory while the black swordsman uses Joker Memory, which is necessary for the current situation as he activated it. **"Luna" "Joker".** "Henshin!", the duo shouted and initiate the transformation procedure, with Kirito becoming the body of Kamen Rider. **"Luna. Joker"**

As soon as Kirito became the yellow-black Kamen Rider, he halted his step, used the right side's power to stretch the right arm as long as possible. Luckily, becoming Kamen Rider with Hiro allows the black swordsman to have the sharp sight like an eagle so they can estimate distance accurately up to 2.5 kilometres. Luna Joker successfully managed to entangle both men before bringing them to the former's current location, at the training field.

* * *

Agil and Klein did not like what happened, they just got caught up in some weird wormhole and they almost fall to their death, at 20 metres above ground. They screamed for their dear lives, hoping for someone to save them. Luckily, their prayers were answered as an elongated yellow arm entangled both of them and brought them to somewhere.

They had no idea what is going on at that moment, but anything is better than falling to death. The two of them were brought down on ground levels and released. They sighed in relief that they have not went over to the other world, but a gratitude needs to be said to their saviour.

When they take a look at whom they were save by and screamed in horror. It was a half and half red-eyed alien, with the right side being yellow and left side being black. What makes it creepier was that they saw the right side had its arm elongated and shortened to normal. "Aaahh! An alien!", shouted Klein.

* * *

Luna Joker managed to save those two guys from their death. However, the victims screamed in fear because they thought they were taken in by some alien with stretching arms.

Seeing how this would attract unnecessary attention, the bluenette decided to speak, "It's okay… please calm down". However, the black swordsman on the other hand, recognised well the two individuals that was saved from their faces, body structures and voices, leading him to gasp, "Klein, Agil?!"

Those two men, whose game characters were name as such suddenly paused when they heard it and stared at each other before glancing to Luna Joker. "How do you know our names?", asked Agil.

Instead of saying, the yellow-black Kamen Rider undo the transformation, reverting to Kirito. The two men were greatly astonished when they saw what just happened. A friend that they were looking for is just right in front of them.

"Ki… Ki… Kirito!", Agil and Klein yelled excitedly as they get up and approach the black swordsman. The samurai fanatic began to mess up with Kirito's hair, to the latter's dismay as he tried to make it stop.

Klein enthusiastically said, "I can't believe you're still alive out there, buddy! I'm worried!", which Kirito retorted, "Stop it, Klein! Don't play with hair", as he struggled to stop the former from messing his hair.

"You seemed to be in good shape there. Have you been working out?", asked Agil as he noticed the black swordsman looked slightly muscular. "Yeah. I did," replied Kirito. "Kirito-kun!", a familiar female voice called out, which got the males' attention.

Agil and Klein noticed Asuna as well as the other girls approaching to their location. Those two smiled in relief when noticing that it was not Kirito alone that they found, but the others as well.

Silica and the others, who just arrived were surprised to see the familiar faces and the twin-tailed hair girl gasped, "Agil-san and Klein-san?!". "Oh, the rest of you are all right too?! That's a relief!", cried Klein excitedly. Asuna and the others could not comprehend what is going on.

Hiro and Ayumu approaches the group, with the former deducing, "Looks like those two are your friends. The axe fighter merchant, Agil and the samurai of Fuurinkazan, Klein, isn't it?".

Klein and Agil noticed there are new faces, a boy and a girl they never seen before. "Who are you two? How did you know about us?", asked Agil. Hiro then introduced himself, "Nice to meet you, my name is Oozora Hiro. I'm a private investigator", and followed by Ayumu, "I'm his sister, Oozora Ayumu".

The bluenette continued, "I heard about you two from these people. I never would have thought you two would get stranded here as well, Klein-san, Agil-san".

Klein and Agil seems bewildered as to what are these siblings' relationship with Kirito and the others from that sentence. Sinon then proceed to said, "These two have been looking after us for the past three months".

Upon hearing that, Klein and Agil were surprised not because of who looked after Kirito and the others but rather the duration of it. The samurai fanatic became panicked as he inquired, "Eh?! Months?! What do you mean? Isn't it just two weeks?".

There was a short silence in the mood when everyone else heard this. The bluenette seems to comprehend what is going on as he broke the ice, "Looks like there are some discrepancy here", and requested, "For starters, can you two explain the situation from your perspective before you ended up here?"

"Oh, right" agreed Klein. The samurai fanatic put his right fist on his lips, cleared his throat before he began, "So, you see. Today, from where we were before coming here was 17th May 2026. In other words, it's been 2 weeks since that treasure hunting race event at Oguma mountain, but you guys haven't return home at all". After hearing this, Kirito and the others felt uneasy, with the former asking, "What happened in those two weeks?".

"Apparently, a few days later, there are news of a few individuals went missing at Oguma Mountain. Your photos appeared in that same news. From what it said, your family members all made a file report to the police about this. But the police couldn't find any clue to your whereabouts", explained Klein.

Agil then continued, "So, Klein insisted that we should be searching for you guys ourselves. From the info we gathered, there were witnesses claiming they saw some weird phenomenon that a group of people got caught in a wormhole and vanished. Such a thing was not mentioned in the news, probably due to lack of credibility and the phenomenon is incoherent. Hence, Klein thought if we get into one, we should be able to come across you guys. Although I didn't expect such bogus like wormhole to happen in reality, it actually did. We got sucked into it and you guys know the rest".

Hearing the story, Kirito and the others could not help but feel apprehensive about what is happening to this universe. Wormholes, or rather a hypothetical connection between widely separated regions of space–time.

It often happens in fictions of various stories where the characters, villains or protagonists got sent to the past or to the future, which depending on the actions, it could change the outcome that originally should happened without them interfering on anything major. This is very true for the past since it affects not only the civilisation but also the future offspring.

For example, the great grandfather of the protagonist is a legendary hero that the protagonist also follows this path of heroic to take out the villains that threatened the peace of humanity and wanted to conquer the world. The villains knew about it and one of them had the ability to travel through time. Hence, the villain with this special ability went to the past and successfully killed the grandfather, which the protagonist would then vanish since there is no knot to ties loose end or his father did not even exist as well. The villains would succeed in conquering the world just like that.

Another example is the worst that could have happened between Hiro and Sinon on the latter's birthday in year 2060. The bluenette confessed that he had feelings for the beauty sniper but thankfully, she rejected him. As much as it hurts him to know his feelings is not reciprocal, Hiro was glad because if they had continued the romance and even consummate it, this will bring terrible outcome. Why? There are two possibilities.

First, Sinon could remained in this era to be with Hiro and her descendants that should have been with someone else, will not exist. Second, she returns to her proper timeline but was conceived with Hiro's kid. That would bring bad reputation to Sinon herself since she ended up carrying a child out of wedlock. Even if out of stress she aborted the child, her reputation is still not in the clear since she abandons an innocent life.

Luckily, none of that actually happened since the bluenette said he was aware of those consequences and the beauty sniper deserves her own happiness with the man who truly deserves her, which is not him.

Sinon understood that even if Hiro is smart enough to know this, he is still a man and it is his nature to pursue a woman whom he would fell in love with. Ultimately, Hiro gives up pursuing relationship with Sinon and the latter believe he is now going after Sara Lindsey Elisabeth, a woman that lives in the same era as him. Though, the bluenette still denied himself of having affections for her despite his behaviour suggesting otherwise.

Those matter asides, Kirito and the others still could not believe wormholes could appear so suddenly. How Kirito and the others come to year 2060 is understandable because the wormhole was a Dopant's special ability.

They got stranded because Hiro was not aware that they got winded up in this timeline and he defeated the Dopant before they could even ask to go home. To make matters worse, the bluenette cannot send them home because he had no special ability or any time machine to do so.

There is the method of using the Time Memory's power, but he opposed in doing that because he knew raw Gaia Memories are dangerous and changes people.

In addition, according to what the bluenette found out from his well-acquainted police detective, Kagami Tetsuo, the culprit testified every Gaia Memory was rare, meaning there are limited numbers as to how many this type of Gaia Memory was produced. The chance of finding one is rather small since Geo had so many Gaia Memories produced daily. In other words, getting Time Gaia Memory is pretty much impossible.

However, in the case of Klein and Agil, there is no explanation as to how it happened. "Can such thing like wormhole even happen out of the blue?", asked Silica curiously and Hiro answered, "I don't know, but that possibility is not zero. Perhaps, due to you all arriving here and stayed this long had caused such irregularity to happen. Plus, the fact that it was only a fortnight and here it is a few months further proves that you all came from a parallel world from ours. These are all just my conjectures but not impossible to happen. For whatever reason it happened, one thing I know for sure is that since you two are here as well, I might have to ask for another room from the landlord for them. I better do it right away," before he excused himself, took out his Stag Phone and call the landlord for Stream Dormitory to inquire regarding room vacancy for Klein and Agil.

While the bluenette is busy answering the phone, the samurai fanatic and axe fighter merchant could not help but felt curious about him. Klein then whispered to the black swordsman, "Hey, Kirito. Who is that Hiro guy? For a private investigator, he sure knows a lot of knowledge that does not even come across laws. Is he a bookworm?".

Kirito could not help but chuckled a bit when the samurai fanatic could guess the answer that was very close than what he expected, which annoys the latter a bit. However, the black swordsman realised they're wasting their time in an open field and the heat from the sun is getting intense if he started to tell all the stuff that is happening to them recently. In addition, Kirito and the others needed to take a bath since they are reek of sweats from all the workout.

"Well, there is a lot to explain here but let's listen to what Hiro wanted to say first," said Kirito.

As for Agil, he started counting silently the number of people whom he and Klein had found, excluding Hiro and Ayumu since they are not the people they searched for. Then, he was shocked because the number is not enough. As far as he recalled from the news on television, there were supposedly seven people reported missing consisted of two boys and five girls. Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, Leafa and Sinon, those five girls are complete, but the only boy here was Kirito. There should be another one and he is Kirigaya Suguha's classmates, Nagata Shinichi AKA Recon.

"Wait a second, where's Recon?", asked Agil and everyone else turned sour when that topic was brought upon. The axe fighter merchant and samurai fanatic seem befuddled as to why the sudden silence treatment from their friends. "He's… missing…", muttered Leafa and this sentence surprises the two adult men. "Missing?! What do you mean?!", responded Agil with a concern expression.

"We don't know specifically what happened… but it is around early August that he didn't return to the dorm," stated Sinon with Kirito then explaining, "I shared a room with him, but he is not in his bed for three days. We couldn't contact him either. At first, I thought he is helping Hiro or stayed at his home or something, but no. Hiro didn't know anything about that".

"Of course, we tried to search him in the city and asked if anyone see him somewhere," said Silica. Asuna then explained, "We do consider filling a police report but Yui-chan warned not to do so because we are not legally registered in the official national database. If they investigate us thoroughly, they will question whether we are this country's citizens and worse cast scenario, we'll get banished and Hiro goes to jail for hiding refugees".

Klein and Agil seemed to comprehend what they meant here, with the latter saying, "That's indeed something we don't want to happen. Going against government is a very terrible idea. Make one wrong move and you lose everything as punishment with regards to the list of laws that they had compiled right more than a century ago".

"Luckily, with Hiro's help, he was able to convince his well-acquainted police detectives in assisting to search for Recon without filing any official report. He did ask his informants to tell him if they found any clue with regards to Recon. However, as of now, they got nothing," added Lisbeth.

"Of course, we hope we can find him before anything bad happens but as of now, there's no clue whatsoever. I hope he's okay, wherever he is right now…", muttered Leafa worriedly. The kendo expertise never really like how obstinate Recon was in trying to be familiar with her in such affectionate manner. It was annoying to have your own classmate literally stalking you whenever there is a chance for it. Though, he is not as deranged as Shinkawa Kyouji, whose woman of affection was Sinon.

Recon may seem jealous and slightly hostile towards Kirito at first but knowing the latter was Leafa's big brother, he became rather unrelenting in trying to win over Kirito. To Leafa, that is twice as annoying from when he stalked her before but not disturbing as what Sinon experienced with Shinkawa Kyouji. Nevertheless, with Recon being missing in action for at least a month, worries Leafa that he might have got mad to Sinon's schoolmate that is currently being held as an inmate in the asylum. She hoped Recon did not fall that far if he was alive right now.

While the group are worrying, Hiro had finished his phone call and changed the topic when he announced, "All right. There is a room available and I will check in for you two right in away. Follow us to Stream Dormitory and we can continue this talk after everyone else, including me changed and took a bath".

* * *

Kirito and the others, alongside their recently arrived friends, Klein and Agil followed the Oozora siblings to the dormitory where they currently live. Upon arrival, Hiro checked in with the landlord regarding the details of the two new occupants while Ayumu and the girls went ahead to take a bath and change. The bluenette got the key for them to stay in the room that is next to Kirito and Recon's room on the first floor as the boys' room are here while the girls' room are at the second floor. The bluenette told Klein and Agil to wait in their room as he and Kirito needs to take shower and changed as well.

About half an hour later, everyone had finished taking their bath and changed to fresh clothes. The reason for being more than 15 minutes was the girls taking their time in the bath while Kirito and Hiro took at most was about 10 minutes to clean their body and changed.

The bluenette then invited Klein and Agil to the meeting room on the third floor alongside Kirito, Ayumu and the girls as well. When everyone is all present, Kirito and the others informed to Klein and Agil about what had happened for the past few months when they were in year 2060.

They told those two about Amanohara City, the city they currently were at was a breeding nest for monsters called Dopants and what Gaia Memories are in conjunction to it. In addition to that was Hiro being the smartest person on Earth due to an ability to access the Planetary Bookshelves for knowledge and Kirito was chosen to become Kamen Rider W with the former. Klein and Agil had no idea what Kamen Rider supposed to be so Kirito and Hiro demonstrate by transforming into Cyclone Joker.

This surprises the two adult men as it was that same appearance Kirito took form into to save them. Everyone else then continued with the explanation as to how Kamen Rider Double had the ability to stop the people who transformed into Dopants by using Memory Break and that they are doing this for the past few months before Kirito undo the transformation.

After Hiro wake up from the transformation, he then explained to Klein and Agil about himself. From how the bluenette himself was once a normal civilian into got brainwashed by a terrorist group to do their bidding, being held in this city for a one-year probation under Asaka Fuuto's supervision, received the special ability to access the Planetary Bookshelves from the incident called Begins Night, and how Ayumu, Fuuto's daughter then got adopted as his younger stepsister.

Following from that was about how Kirito and the others learn the name of the organisation, Gaia Engineering Oracle or abbreviated Geo that caused all this incident. In addition, Kirito stated his opinion of how the enemy growing stronger that Kirito and Hiro are reaching their limit to fight the Dopants without the possibility of having Asuna and the others. Hence, Hiro knew such thing would happen someday and requested help from the people he knew with this matter. While explaining the detail about the Major Disaster Rescue Suit and the requirement that the users need to be good in shape in case anything goes wrong, the bluenette asked Ayumu, Suguha, Sinon and Silica to get everyone water to drink as he felt thirsty.

"And that is pretty much what happened. We've been training our bodies for almost two weeks. From now on, Sundays like today, we would do outdoor training togethers while the rest of the days we workout indoors", concluded Lisbeth with Asuna adding, "Just to make sure everyone's body can recover quickly in case we get serious injury".

Klein and Agil could not believe what they just heard from Kirito and the others. Fighting monsters in real life? That is so absurd. However, knowing Kirito, they cannot think he and the others are lying. If they are, then they would not even get send to the future in the first place.

Agil remarked, "Woah… This is quite a lot to take in…", and Kirito replied, "I know, we couldn't believe it too at first but it's the truth". As for Klein, he seems to have sympathy for the bluenette, who was a few years younger than the former, going through such an ordeal, lamented, "I must admit, I don't get what is going on. But I can tell that you've been through a lot, Hiro. What a cruel world that inflicts injustice trials to you…".

"Rather than me, the one who have it worst would be the late Boss, Asaka Fuuto-san. Unlike me, his first involvement in being Kamen Rider Skull ended up forsaking the possibility of being together with Ayumu forever," Hiro corrected the samurai fanatic about his opinion.

Klein seems shocked by this and in disbelief, muttered, "Hey… What does that….?". "You can listen to the details from Kirito and the others by tonight when Ayumu and I aren't around. More importantly, what are you two going to do from now on? First, you will stay here until we find a way to do so. Second, if by any means you think another wormhole would appear out of the blue and you want to use that as your means of return with Kirito and the others, then you might want to think again. The possibility of it to happen is pretty much zero percent. Plus, this method comes with the risk that you could get teleported pretty much anywhere, even into outer space and it is a path of no return. Keep in mind that I can't be hold or won't take responsibility if anything goes wrong to Kirito and the others anymore. As much as smart I am now, I am flawed, like all humans," Hiro explained, questioned and reminded Agil and Klein about their choices.

The two men that was mentioned began pondering about their next course of action. Sure, they found Kirito and the others, but they are in the same boat as them now. Like the bluenette said, finding another wormhole is difficult and it is too dangerous because they could end up anywhere. They were lucky enough to even come in the right era where Kirito and the others are but those luck might not work twice. If they stay, they will be in danger as well because Dopants are lurking around in the city and they could be victim.

No matter how they looked at it, both choices come with risked but finding a wormhole to go home is far dangerous due to high uncertainties. If they stay and tread prudently, they surely be able to return in one piece.

Klein and Agil glanced to each other and nodded before turning to the bluenette. The samurai fanatic then said for himself and the axe fighter merchant, "We'll stay". Hiro immediately warned, "Are you sure? This is no video game where you can use potions and whatnot to heal any damage or stamina. You two could get hurt or die," and Agil responded, "We're prepared for that. Besides, I want to return to my shop, Dicey Café". Klein then added, "More importantly, I can't let Kiri-noji fight alone. I will do everything I can to help my buddy". "Klein…", muttered Kirito with a smile from hearing such a touching phrase.

The bluenette then stood up and announced, "Very well. Welcome aboard, Klein-san, Agil-san. It's going to be hectic from now on but let's get along", with opened arms before putting them down. "Yeah!", cheered Klein excitedly.

Kirito then approached the bluenette and said, "Looks like your instinct hit on the spot," which the latter nodded and replied, "Yes. I didn't expect it too". The samurai fanatic and axe fighter merchant seem confused about what the duo of Double was talking about, leading Klein to inquire, "What are you two talking about?".

"In the first place, Hiro-kun rented eight pairs of MDRS. He thought maybe two more people would be joining the fight too. Who would have thought you two would come?", explained Asuna. "I see… That makes sense", stated Agil.

Hiro then continued, "It is so sudden, but I'll have you two do workout starting tomorrow for the same purpose," and asked, "Is that all right?". "Heck yeah! If you want, I'll get right to it now!", Klein proclaimed with enthusiasm.

The bluenette grins to learn that their new allies are reliable and enthusiastic, but, seeing that everything seems sudden for them to take on a challenge, he explained, "Don't rush. Today your first job is getting the basic needs like clothes, towels, toothbrush and all of that," before he takes out an envelope that seems filled with money, put them on the desk and forward it to the older adults.

"This is the allowance for you two for getting the basic supplies. Spend them wisely on what you chose and give me the receipts by tomorrow", stated Hiro. Klein and Agil were shocked about this. Because they are adults that worked everyday to get money, they knew income has to be earned from jobs that involves either providing service or selling products. Furthermore, they knew how money can bring bad relationship for those who took things for granted.

Knowing this in mind, Agil politely refused by saying, "Hey, wait. We can't just use your money. We can buy things ourselves with our own income. At the very least, we're not poverty-stricken," with Klein nodded with conjunction to this.

"I understand your opinion, but unfortunately, the notes and coins before 2045 is no longer valid for purchases or service. Plus, there isn't any bank account that keeps money for us in this era," explained Hiro and Klein gasped in shock, "For real?!". Agil was silenced from learning about this but otherwise comprehend the situation and concluded, "I guess there's nothing to be surprised about. We pretty much are in a different world to begin with".

"Glad you comprehend but in return, you'll be assisting with pet searching service alongside everyone in the meanwhile to pay that debt", explained Hiro. Once again, Klein gasped, "Pet searching?! You mean, we're just going to be searching for lost animals that people keep?!".

"Exactly. Got any problem with that?", asked Hiro, who did not seem fazed by this reaction and complaint from the samurai fanatic. Lisbeth then cut in and said, "Well, well. Just do it, you two. We've been doing that as well, for the most part to pay the debt and rent for this place".

Upon hearing that, Klein lamented, "For real...?", as he slumps from shame. The samurai fanatic was expecting some sort of detective like investigation, solving mysteries and murders, not searching for lost animals that people kept for companionship.

Hiro then remembered something and said, "Also, before I forget, Klein-san, this is my strict warning for you. You shall not go around flirting with any woman in this era and get involved with them romantically regardless of what chance you got. If I found out, you're not getting off the hook, understand?".

The samurai fanatic seems super offended by this and barked, "What the hell?! What makes you think I'll do that?!". "I'm just saying the truth. Nothing else," countered Hiro and Klein still does not feel happy about it, leading him to turn at the black swordsman and ordered, "Hey, Kiri-noji! Talk some sense into this bibliomania! I can't have youngsters like him disrespect adults like me!".

Kirito was confounded by the samurai fanatic's behaviour and felt awkward about it. At the very least, Hiro is talking the truth and Klein is such an outward pervert from any misleading sentence he said over something he anticipated. "No… It's not a matter of age here, Klein…", muttered Kirito nervously.

"Hiro got that right. You better not think of hitting on girls in this era!", berated Lisbeth as she agreed with the bluenette's advice. Klein was not amused by the further accusations and whined, "Hey! Hey! Not you guys too! It's not like I'm going to be serious about it!", before Agil concluded, "Knowing your personality, it's very obvious they can tell you're going to do that in the first place". "No way…!" bemoaned Klein as he flopped in shame and the rest, including Hiro, chuckled amusingly from this.

By that time, Ayumu and the other girls came in, with the drinks for everyone in the room. The bluenette realised they took more than 10 minutes to prepare and remarked, "Well, that is quite long to prepare drinks".

Sinon then apologised in behalf of the other girls, "Sorry… It's just… something unexpected happen…,", which surprises Hiro as he tilts his head to the right, muttered in bewilderment, "Something unexpected?".

"So, here you are…", a foreign male voice muttered as that person himself entered the room. Everyone got their focus shifted to the male stranger that just entered the room. He was a hunk, with brown hair, hazel eyes, wearing a black t-shirt inside a red jacket with red pants and black boots.

It is a new face and neither the Oozora siblings nor Kirito and his friends knew who this hunk is. Suguha panicked and scolded, "Hey! Don't just barge in like that. We told you to wait until we call you!", but, this new man was neither fazed nor felt culpable with his actions.

Feeling an all new agitation vibe coming from this man, Kirito inquired, "Who are you?". The hunk man then took out a black notepad, opened it to reveal his profile as he introduced himself, "My name is Hondou Shukichi, a police superintendent of Amanohara Police Department".

 **Wow. For some reason, it's very hard to stop your main character from talking too much, especially if he/she is super knowledgeable. I'll try to refrain that as much as possible, for Hiro.**

 **Anyway, I said I'm using an OC for Accel because existing SAO characters makes it incoherent, but Recon still exist for a good reason. I'll tell what his roles are in upcoming chapters.**

 **Once I'm done with this arc, I'm going to go straight with the moving arc, skip the fillers with Gunner A extension, Frog Pod Memory Gadgets, and mentioned the acceptable time lapse in between for all this to happen. Believe me that I wanted to go slow, write all the stories and posted them, but I don't feel like writing any more fillers in conjunction with the Kamen Rider W to fit in with the necessary characters. Not to mention, it does not change whether I do workout or not to keep my concentration strong as well as losing waist inches, I still drag things long for mere fillers.'**

 **My interest would change because time flies so fast and new series like Kamen Rider Zero One makes me consider writing a new fanfic. It's good to have new ideas but I don't want to discard this story after coming this far and forgot it. The emails and messages that comes in are something I don't want to know, even though I unsubscribe to them. That is a no. I consider changing the title of this fanfic that would fit in better, but I haven't come up with it yet so hold on. Anyway, please rate and Review.**


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